The View from the Top... and the Bottom... and the Side

Perspective. We could all use a little. Sometimes in life things happen and we find ourselves caught up, spun around, and knocked on our behinds. It hurts, but it happens. Funny thing is, if we never ended up sitting on our duffs we wouldn't gain the advantage of a new point of view.



I had a patient the other day who came into clinic wearing this beautiful vest. When I walked in the exam room I noticed it immediately. It was yellow, red, green, white, and black. From across the room it looked like crochet. The patient's mother said he had made the vest himself. I was even more amazed because this young man had some pretty severe disabilities. He does not talk and he will never be able to care for himself. We proceeded with the interview and, as we began to address her main reason for presenting today, I approached him for my physical exam. As I got closer I started noticing some new things about the vest. The individual threads were slightly rougher than I originally thought. The edges were a little less even. The colors were actually more varied up close than was evident from acorss the room. I reached out and touched the vest. It was not crochet. It was made out of... twist ties! Suddenly, what seemed amazing and beautiful was now astounding and inspiring. How long had this taken? There were thousands of twist ties comprising this vest. That's a lot of twisting! That's a lot of ties!



Perspective. Of course, it works in reverse too. Sometimes things seem so beautiful and so good and then we get a taste and... blech! I like to cook. Most of the time I'm successful but when I'm not, well, let's just say I bow my head and thank the Lord for delivery. Like the time I grilled fish for my parents. The dish came out looking like a magazine picture. We all sat down to dig in. The table looked nice. My mouth was watering. Mom, dad and I opened up for our first bites AAAAAND DISASTER! What I thought was garlic powder was actually onion powder! It was a short meal. My spices are labeled correctly now.



One person from scripture who I imagine gained A LOT of perspective was Eve. How did she end up deciding what was for dinner that night in Eden? Maybe it went a little something like this:



Adam: "What do you want for dinner?"

Eve: "I don't care."

Adam: "I know you have an opinion. What do you want?"

Eve (shrugs): "Really. I don't care."

Adam: "Okay. How about some oranges?"

Eve (examinng her hands): "Wellllll, oranges are niiiice. They have loads of vitamin C but the rind gets under my nails..."

Adam: "Okay, what do YOU want?"

Eve (shakes head and purses lips): "I don't care."

Adam (exasperated and throwing his hands in the air): "See! I can't take it! Every night, it's the same conversation! You're on your own for dinner, woman! I'll meet you back at this tree in an hour!"



So he stomps off and the rest is history. Eve meets the serpent and now we all weed our gardens, work our butts off, and have to live through sweltering summers like this one. I bet in her heart of hearts Eve never again wanted to leave Adam's side and she sure as heck never hesitated to voice her opinion again!



Speaking of hearts - the perspective of the heart is tricky. My heart recently gained a new point of view. Do we love freely and take our chances or do we protect ourselves and love only when it is safe? I've always voted for "love freely" and, despite recent events, I think I'll still lean that way. Jesus loved freely. I know, it's waaay over used, but let's look at Corinthians.



1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."



No where in that passage does it say we need to worry about what will happen to the love we give to people. Unlike money or time or greeting cards, the capacity of our hearts increases with each incriment we give out. Sometimes it hurts but that's okay. In 1 Peter 4:8 we see the command "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins". It's like a drop of water in a vast pond! Who knows what shores the ripples will touch! Love is the only thing in existance that gets bigger with the more you give. I will not be afraid to give it freely and I'm thankful for that point of view.