It's All About Perspective...

I've been thinking a lot lately.  I'm not sure exactly what I've been thinking about.  That sounds totally weird and cryptic but it's the truth.  Sometimes I feel like I have so much going on in my head that I can't get it sorted out.  I think about things I want to do, things I should've done, how messy my house is and how cute my kids are.  I wonder how long it's going to take me to lose the weight I want to lose.  I make shopping lists in my head and forget them.  I clean my house in my head.  True story.

But the majority of my thinking lately has been about perspective.  What you ask, does a picture of me holding yard clippers (no idea what they are really called) have to do with perspective?  Well, what you can't see in this fabulous photo is where I am standing.  

We have a great patio in our backyard and it is surrounded by trees in other people's yards.  I'm not sure that I'm really supposed to prune those trees but I did it anyway.  There is this massive vine that is snaking it's way around our trees and covering them entirely.  Since we don't get a lot of sun in the backyard (and because I'm a little obsessive compulsive) I decided this vine HAD to be removed.  I thought I'd just cut out a little of it.  But then I kept going and going.  And going.  And going.  And eventually when I couldn't reach it anymore I got on a chair.  And then a ladder.  And finally I stood on the top of the fence rail.  I have excellent balance for those of you who are concerned.

So.....I've taken out all of the vine that I can get.  And I have to admit I'm pretty proud of myself.  The tree looks great and I have a sense of accomplishment.  I was also pretty excited that I had balanced on the fence rail for a good 20 minutes or so while battling this crazy vine.  I asked Peter to take a picture.  He took two.  Neither of them show my feet.  Neither of them show the fence.

Later on I looked at the pictures and I informed him of his mistake.  The whole point of these pictures was to prove to the watching world that I was fearless in vine cutting.  I wasn't scared to balance on the fence.  Instead I look like I'm on a hike with a set of yard clippers.  And that is just weird.

Peter and I just celebrated 5 years of marriage.  I am so thankful for him and our relationship.  I'd be lying if I said the last 5 years has been easy.  We've faced chronic illness, job uncertainty, deaths of family members, lengthy separation and a cross-country move.  The most recent frustration was the 6 months we spent apart.  We arrived here in the PNW last August and Peter left in September for 6 months.  I barely had enough time to learn my way to the grocery store and he was gone.  I was pregnant, in a new town, with a 14 month old.  Not my idea of ideal.

I haven't talked a lot about what we learned and that time apart here.  But I can honestly say that if we were given the chance to go back and change it we wouldn't.  We chose to look at the positive side of being apart.  We counted our blessings instead of crying over missed milestones and lonely days and nights.  We made the best of the situation.  We looked for the good.  

If you are new to the blog you should know I talk a LOT about thankfulness.  It has changed my life.  One of my favorite scripture passages is in I Thessalonians.  It says simply....be thankful always.  It's easy to understand....hard to follow.

If you are having a hard time changing your perspective I encourage you to practice thankfulness.  Sometimes I list 5 things about my day that I am thankful for.  Sometimes I do more.  Regardless I make an attempt to see what good I can find in any situation.

I encourage you to change your perspective if things are looking a off.  That is what I'm going to do.  Right after I teach Peter how to take pictures!