Life is funny sometimes. And God always has a way of bringing us down to earth and making us see things the way He wants us to see them. Several things have happened to me recently that made me put my life into perspective. I wanted to share these things with you in hopes that maybe you will stop and take the time to put things into perspective.
This past Friday, Steven and I were preparing for our Valentine's Mystery dinner for our youth group. We had so much to do and not a whole lot of time to do it all in. On our way to the church, we made a stop at the dollar store to pick up some Valentine supplies. When we walked inside, we saw Mrs. Donna, a fabulous lady that we go to church with. She had two of her grandchildren with her and they were each holding on tightly to a balloon. I squatted down to say hello to Ava, who is probably around 3 years old. As soon as I said hello, she ran to me and gave me the biggest hug her little body could give. At that moment, nothing else mattered. I was no longer in a hurry to buy our supplies and leave. I was no longer worried if we were going to have enough time to decorate. I was just so wrapped up in the fact that this precious little girl wanted to hug me and tell me all about the balloon she had and about the little ceramic puppy dog that was in her hand. For the rest of the day, I thought about our two minute conversation and about the smile on her face. God took that opportunity to show me the love of a child and to just breathe for one second. What an incredible way to bring me back down.
The following Saturday, I went to a ladies day in Chattanooga with our preacher's wife, Mrs. Beverly, and her daughter, Grace. I love going to ladies days because I always leave feeling so great! I was blessed just to be going with these two special ladies in my life, but I was definitely blessed to hear such a wonderful speaker. The speaker for the day was originally from Pakistan. She went into detail about her country and told us that 97% of the people in Pakistan all believe in the Muslim faith. That means that only 3% are Christians. She showed pictures of their church building and when I looked a little closer, I saw a man standing in the background of the picture. This man was holding a gun. Each time that congregation met to worship, guards were put at all entrances and on the roof so they could protect the people inside. It made me incredibly thankful to live in a country where we are free to worship. We are able to attend church, Bible studies, ladies days and any other form of worship whenever we choose and without fear that something will happen to us. It is so sad to know that people have to worry about being harmed while they are worshiping God. It is also sad to think that this happens so often, every single day all around the world. Talk about putting things into perspective!
Another event that made me put things into perspective happened tonight. I stayed home from work today because I have been sick for the past few days. I had to miss our weekly Bible study with out youth group tonight and was already feeling pretty bummed out because of that. My sweet sweet husband called me after Bible study and told me he was going to pick up some supper and some Kleenex and would soon be on his way home. About 15 minutes after the first call, he called again and the first words were, "I need you to come get me." My first thought was, "His old car broke down again." Then he told me that he was okay, but he had just had a wreck. A man was coming off of the interstate and cut out in front of Steven. Steven t-boned him. I immediately jumped off the couch, changed out of my pajamas and raced out the door. I no longer cared that I was sick and feeling bad. My main concern was getting to my husband and making sure he was alright. The whole way there I prayed that no one was hurt and was so thankful when I found out everyone involved was alright. I was also very thankful that our preacher, Tom, came to stay with us while the police took care of things.
I am so thankful that God reminds me daily of the blessings in my life. I know I don't always thank Him like I should. And even though I tend to get wrapped up on the things that keep our life so busy, sometimes it's nice to be reminded, in God's own special way, just exactly what we need to put into perspective.
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