Perspective

Sunday September 25 Dear Mother and Dad: It has been three months since I left for college. I have been remiss in writing and I am very sorry for my thoughtlessness in not having written before. I will bring you up to date now, but before you read on, please sit down. You are not to read any further unless you are sitting down, okay. Well then, I am getting along pretty well now. The skull fracture and the concussion I got when I jumped out of the window of my dormitory when it caught fire shortly after my arrival are pretty well healed by now. I only spent two weeks in the hospital and now I can see almost normally and only get those headaches once a day. Fortunately, the fire in the dormitory and my jump was witnessed by an attendant at the gas station near the dorm, and he was the one who called the Fire Dept. and the ambulance. He also visited me at the hospital and since I had nowhere to live because of the burnt out dormitory, he was kind enough to invite me to share his apartment with him. It's really a basement room, but it's kind of cute. He is a very fine boy and we have fallen deeply in love and are planning to get married. We haven't set the exact date yet, but it will be before my pregnancy begins to show. Yes, mother and dad, I am pregnant. I know how very much you are looking forward to being grandparents and I know you will welcome the baby and give it the same love and devotion and tender care you gave me when I was a child. The reason for the delay in our marriage is that my boyfriend has some minor infection which prevents us from passing our premarital blood tests and I carelessly caught it from him. This will soon clear up with the penicillin injections I am now taking daily. I know you will welcome him into the family with open arms. He is kind and although not well educated, he is ambitious. Although he is of a different race and religion than ours, I know that your oft-expressed tolerance will not permit you to be bothered by such a minor detail. I am sure you will love him as I do. Now that I have brought you up to date, I want to tell you there was no dormitory fire; I did not have a concussion or a skull fracture; I was not in the hospital; I am not pregnant; I am not engaged. I do not have syphillis, and there is no man in my life at all. However, I am getting a D in sociology and an F in science; and I wanted you to see these marks in proper perspective. Your loving daughter, Perspective – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. This encouragement series based on the verses in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 has taken us on some major detours. From revenge, to living in peace to warning the idle and the weak to being patient and joyful to praying continually and not we are at give thanks in all circumstances. This verse is all about perspective. Perspective is really important isn’t it. ILL.- One morning after a terrible snowstorm, Susan was outside shoveling her driveway. She stopped to wave hello to her neighbor, and he asked her why her husband wasn’t out there helping her with the chore. She explained that one of them had to stay inside to take care of the children, so they drew straws to see who would go out and shovel. "Sorry about your bad luck," he said. Susan replied, "Don’t be sorry. I won!" Give thanks in all circumstances. ILL.- Dr. Dale Robbins writes, “I used to think people complained because they had a lot of problems. But I have come to realize that they have problems because they complain. Complaining doesn’t change anything or make situations better. It amplifies frustration, spreads discontent and discord, and can invoke an invitation for the devil to cause havoc with our lives.” Complaining makes us miserable. Psalm 77:3 says, “I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed.” I. WE HAVE IT SO GOOD I Tim. 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” EVERYTHING we have comes from God, EVERYTHING. Perspective comes to us when we see life through God’s eyes. It all comes from him and no one and nothing can snatch it away from us. II. WE ENJOY IT SO MUCH Philippians 2:13 “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.” This is funny timing because just Wednesday night I was telling our youth to complain a little, but transparent and be real. Because let’s be honest when you are doing well and everything is falling into place for you the odds are it is quite the opposite for most of your friends. But when things are falling apart, and it just isn’t going your way every one can relate to that. Be real, and be transparent but try to do it without complaining all of the time. I race with a guy who said, Jeff why don’t you go complain if you complained it would carry a whole lot more weight. I complain every week and it’s lonely. Think about just how much wisdom there is right there in that statement made in a passing conversation. In which you shine like stars in the universe. How do we shine? By having perspective, how do we get that perspective? By the last two verses we studied. Pray continually and be joyful always. 3- We express it so little ILL.- Some years ago, the cartoon pictured Charlie Brown bringing out Snoopy’s dinner on Thanksgiving Day. But it was just his usual dog food in a bowl. Snoopy took one look at the dog food and said, "This isn’t fair. The rest of the world today is eating turkey with all the trimmings and all I get is dog food. Because I’m a dog," he said, "all I get is dog food." He stood there and stared at his dog food for a moment and said, "I guess it could be worse. I could be a turkey." Instead of thinking about how little we have, we need to count up what we do have and give thanks! - In Los Angeles a parking citation with a five-dollar bill attached arrived at the traffic-fine bureau. An accompanying note said: “I found this ticket on the sidewalk. Not knowing if the car owner has ever seen it, I would like to make the remittance for him—in gratitude for the occasions when I have parked over the allotted time and not received a ticket.” How’s that for gratitude? I Thess. 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I am Thankful for......... and in………. ....the taxes I pay because it means I’m employed. ....the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat. ....my shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine. ....a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home. ....the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking. ....my huge electric bill because it means the A/C works and I am comfortable. ....all the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech. ....the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear. ....the piles of laundry because it means my loved ones are nearby. ....the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I’m alive. ....the weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive. I truly believe that people with perspective are a whole lot happier. We went to a softball game a few years ago and the faciltiies were amazing. Then a few weeks later we went to another field, the grass was in need of being mowed, there were holes in the outfield, the dugout benches were worn out and splintered. One girl looked at me and said we aren’t ______________ but we sure aren’t this place either lol. I believe life is full of choices, God loves us unconditionally and lets us choose to love Him back. HE also watches us intently, daily. We can be joyful and pray continually and get perspective, or we can complain and grumble all of the time and at some point something bad will happen and we will look back and get that perspective when it is too late to enjoy what we once had.