The Perspective

Several weeks ago, I laid my son down for his morning nap and went to turn on his video monitor.  As the monitor powered on, the picture on the screen was so dark that I could not even make out his image.  I was a little irritated because what's the point of a video monitor if I can't even see the video, right?!  How am I supposed to make sure he's breathing if I can't even see him?

I started thinking about possible causes for the picture to be so dark.  Was his room too light?  No, his room was as dark as could be without any lights on, his blinds shut, and blackout curtains pulled closed to keep out extra light.  That wasn't it.  Then it occurred to me...maybe if I changed the perspective of the camera, I could see the imagine on the monitor.  So, I quietly crept into his room and shifted the camera from one corner of his crib to the other.  When I came back out and looked at the monitor, lo and behold, I could see the image perfectly clear.

Don't worry, it's not really 76 in his room.  The temperature gauge has never worked correctly.

Problem solved!  Now I could keep an eye on him and go about my business.  But as I went about my morning chores, a simple thought occurred to me.  Perspective is everything.

Nothing about the situation of my son's video monitor had changed other than the perspective of the camera.  His blinds remained closed in the same way they were before, I hadn't touched his curtains, I didn't turn off any lights.  Literally the only thing I had done differently was move the camera so that the image would be seen from a different direction.

This is Jesus in the mundane and ordinary of everyday life.  It's a moment when Heavens whispers that He's not far away from us at all if only we'd stop to see Him.  Everything that happens to us, everything that we are engaged in can be seen from one of two perspectives; the light or the dark.  And being intentional about our way of thinking is life or death to our state of mind. 

The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8 that, "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." (emphasis mine)

 Training our minds to focus on the positive gives us life.  

On the flip side, if we choose to look at things through a negative lens, that brings about grief and destruction and increases anxiety and fear.  As Jesus so wisely described on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:22-23, "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"

This means that how and what we see affects our whole being.

I am reminded that I am in charge of my own thoughts.  I cannot control what happens to me, but I can control how I respond to what happens.  I must choose to see situations through the positive perspective.  And to be honest, I stink at doing this in my own strength.  I must ask God constantly to help me see the good, help me be thankful.  Choosing otherwise leads me to darkness in my thoughts, in my heart, and then ultimately my words or actions.  I must guard my heart, for everything I do flows from it (Proverbs 4:23).

This reminder came at the perfect time for me.  And maybe you need this reminder too.  Maybe you have been consumed with negative thoughts or are facing a really difficult situation or trial in life.  Your grief overwhelms you.  You just cannot seem to catch a break.  But there is a way out.  It's through the power of your thinking.  And oh, is it ever powerful.  The Lord gave us a brain for a reason.  Let us use it to shine light in our own lives which will then overflow into others.

Perspective is everything.  It's through how we choose to see that affects our thoughts, words, and actions. Ask God for help every step of the way.  Let us remember that a shift in perspective can suddenly bring everything to light.  And let us choose to see situations that way instead of focusing on the negative and dark way of thinking.  Light gives life.