Our 3 ½-year old grandson was “helping” clean up the play area with a grabber. His toys, of course, were the intended objects. Veering off course, he latched the grabber onto the handle of my not-quite-finished mug of coffee. We watched it swoop through the air emptying the contents onto the kitchen floor. We listened at it was released into the sink.
“At least the mug wasn’t completely full and it didn’t break,” I reasoned.
“I’m impressed that he can manipulate that tool, and I’m thankful for his skills,” my husband commented.
“I suppose so,” I said while wiping up the coffee from the floor.
Two different perspectives.
Our family currently faces some heavy life challenges with a couple of our older grandchildren. They make spilled coffee seem like a trifling hiccup in the scheme of things.
Crying out the Lord about their overwhelming needs, I was directed to these instructions in God’s Word which I have glibly quoted and glossed over too many times. It was now time to obey and apply it to my anxiety. Philippians 4:6-7 reads like this in the Holman Christian Standard Bible:
First a command— “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything through prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” The prayer and petitions come easily, but the thanksgiving piece had to become an intentional addition to my prayers and petitions.
Then comes the promise— “And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Do I know the answers to these prayers and petitions? Not at all. At least not yet. Humanly, we’re at an impasse.
But I have thanked Him. For His solutions. For the trials. (That took me a little longer.) And faithful to His promise, His peace is surpassing my anxious thoughts and guarding my mind in Christ Jesus.
While praying, thanking, and sensing God’s calming peace, I will, with my loved ones, research and reach out for options for the big crises, and I will try to finish my coffee and set the mug somewhere out of reach of that toddler’s extended arm.
I needed that divine perspective.
It’s All in How You Look at It
By Rebecca McMillan
As a child of God, blessed with rich spiritual legacies in my family and in my husband, David's family, I want to tell "of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it." Psalm 22:30-31
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The patience you have for others, God continue to grant you encouragement to keep telling your changed perspective and love through writing. Love Always
I hate the hard things, but they sure do bring God closer. Love your writing!
YOU HAVE A TEACHER’S HEART—YOU GET A LESSON OUT OF EVERYTHING IN LIFE—BLESSINGS ALWAYS
I love how you deliberately focus on the good aspect of your grandson’s unexpected coffee cup grab. The little stuff is practice for our big struggles to trust God and do it thankfully! You made me think!