A little perspective over here, please!

First, before I get into the aha moment of the week, I have to share this yummy photo!  This will probably qualify as my fav photo of the week, just because of all the lovin' involved.... ahhh, sweet times!  Just ignore how awful I look... oh never mind... yes, I am actually in the photo.  I know you hadn't noticed because you were too busy staring at yummy little Lucy Lane!  Oh how I love this little dumplin'.  And her mommy let me hold her for a LONG time while she slept.  You all know how much I love to hold a sleepin' baby!  LL is from Ethiopia and if  I had even one more hour in my day and a spare 20 grand, I'd go get me one of these!  Meg told LL's sister that "That is not your baby, that's my mommy's baby."  Ooops! 

Okay, on to the perspective part.... 

Last weekend Brian and Liam went to a father/son bonding weekend.  They had an amazing time doing lots of guy stuff (you know, getting eaten alive in the process by mosquitoes didn't seem to be a very big deal to them?????)  Anyway, one of the exercises they did was where the team blindfolded Brian and Liam had to lead him through a "mine field."  Brian said they gave no instruction at all, just that his son was going to lead him and that he should trust Liam.  In the middle of the exercise someone runs up behind Brian and starts to whisper in his ear, "He's going the wrong way.  You're going to go off the trail.  You're going to hit a "mine", you need to turn around!"  Brian, being the patient, non-reactionary person that he is, thought through it and realized that they were trying to trick him into not trusting Liam.  (I would have immediately started questioning Liam, maybe I should work on that!)  Anyway, I thought this was an amazing exercise and a good lesson for me even though I wasn't there.  This happens to me so many times throughout the course of my journey.... I'll be following my heart or trusting my instinct (which, in my experience, is usually planted seeds of the Holy Spirit) and suddenly, someone will whisper doubt in my ear.  I'll hear the words, "How do you know you're following God's will and not your flesh?"  I'll start to have all sorts of doubt and get all confused about which voice to listen to.  Is this voice a messenger of the Spirit trying to turn me around, or is it a messenger of evil trying to get me off God's path?  Again, it's about my perspective.  In this case, I could immediately identify with all the questions running through Brian's mind!  What a great visual though, of how the world tries to put doubt into your journey!

However, and this is why I'm so thankful for Godly friends, Gwen immediately got tears in her eyes when I told this story and she said she was just feeling what Liam must have been thinking, wondering if his dad was going to trust him.  She immediately identified with Liam, not Brian.  She was the child.  How God must love hearts like that, who are naturally in the "child mode" of submission.  How He must want to beat His head against a wall with hearts like mine who immediately think it's up to ME to figure it all out!  Ugh.... remember that personalized pit... still living there!  

Anyway, Gwen's perspective really got me thinking about how many times throughout my day I think it's up to me to make decisions and do do do do do do without stopping to think about what it all looks like from the perspective of my children.  I'm so glad God has given me friends like Gwen and my sweet friend Sonja, who are SOOOOO good at seeing the other side and pointing out to me that there is another perspective in every scenario, not just MINE!  Thanks girly-pies!  I love you sweet friends-o-mine!

Psalm 25:14-15

"God-friendship is for God-worshippers; They are the ones He confides in.  If I keep my eyes on God, I won't trip over my own feet."