Saturday, July 13, 2013

Perspective

I have recently had cause to stop myself and check my perspective. And in doing so, I made a not so startling discovery: God does answer prayer. I found myself praising God this last week, despite all the stress and the worry shadowing my life right now, I was on top of the world. Because I opened my eyes, looked past my own state of panic, and saw God's handiwork all around me. And it still overwhelms me.

On this past Friday, my 18 yr old son was involved in an accident. He was driving a small sports car, and was rear-ended by a Ford F-150 on slick roads while he was stopped to make a turn. He was uninjured, but the car is a total loss. We don't know exactly how fast the truck was going when it hit him, but we do know the only thing that stopped the damage from wiping out the side of the car and probably causing injury, was the back wheel that got broken from the axle. Now, anyone who knows me knows my fear when my son gets behind the wheel. He is a safe driver, at least he is now that he has some experience after some bad decisions earlier in his driving days, but still I fear. I am a mother, its my job to worry right? My daughter is learning to drive now and I am terrified of having them BOTH driving. So I pray, every time he gets behind the wheel of the car, for God to protect him and keep him safe. Friday that prayer was answered. Praise God.

That realization of answered prayer led me to see other things too. I have been experiencing a myriad of health issues the last several months, including a pretty serious kidney infection the last few weeks. I let myself get caught up in my own self-pity over how sick I felt, how bad I hurt and on and on. I had to stop this week and think. There are so many people in this world who would be thankful to have my health issues instead of their own. People who would be happy just to feel, even if it was pain. People who cannot breathe without support. The more I thought about it, the guiltier I felt. Who am I to complain? Instead I found myself being thankful for the health I do have, because I can still walk, I can still drive, cook, read, hear, see and breathe. I thank God for those answered prayers, too.

Sometimes it is the small things or things we take for granted, that we need to take a closer look at because God's blessings are all over those. I often take my kids for granted. They are teenagers now, and my son is now an adult. God has kept them healthy and injury free all of their lives. But the biggest miracle of all, is the fact that they were born. I was so overcome with joy when they were babies, because I had been told I couldn't get pregnant after trying for many years. The fact that God gave me TWO babies in my mid 30's after I had given up on having kids of my own, still overwhelms me with awe. I found myself stopping my thoughts in their tracks this week and just saying, "THATS GOD". The accident had no injuries in either vehicle. THATS God. Despite our dire financial situation, we still manage to make it through every week. THATs God. Every morning I wake up to a new day, THAT's God.

Its Perspective. Don't worry about anything; instead pray about EVERYTHING. Recognize those gifts from God, from the rainbow after the storm to the miracle of birth. Don't just stop to smell the roses; pause to give thanks for all those things you take for granted just because they're always there. You will find more answered prayers and miracles than you could have imagined.