perspective

how easy is it to let an entire season go by without stopping for a minute, to pick up and hold one leaf, take a deep breath of cool, crisp air that swirls in your lungs, or notice that the bugs that used to swarm you in the sunny summer months are no longer to be found? have you seen the leaves i mean? the ones that have the green in the middle, but red, orange, and yellow around the tips? spotted with brown and so beautifully natural? holes cut in them from every kind of bug. i love it. i love fall.

i love the craziness. when i sit in class and learn about deep vein thrombsis, i'm facinated. i'm fascinated by the human body. by all the little capillaries and the large arteries that pump blood through our body every second of every minute of every day. i'm amazed at how our kidneys work. that my body has its own self-cleaning system. that if a few things are off keel, how detrimental it could be for me. possibly for the rest of my life. i'm amazed at how fragile life is. i'm amazed at how many people dont care and abuse their bodies thru passivity. i love learning about such things and hunger to study more. i love my coffee in the middle of seminar as i wade through an ocean of medical jargon, concepts, and realizations.

i love the country that i live in. i love that i have a valid voice as a single young woman. i love that i have the freedom to dream up my future. i love that i know Jesus Christ. i love that i have a car, with insurance, and money for gas, even if the heater takes a while to kick in. i love that i live with one of my best friends, and not only do we respect each other, we enjoy each other. i'm thankful that i've been given so much. an education. job security. a loving family. all these things are a luxury in this world. i am very rich indeed, even though i have very little money.

theres something amazing about perspective. it can take you from your crabbiest, angriest, selfish, and ungrateful mood, through the avenue of thankfulness, and completely bring you to a place of humility, gratefulness, generosity, graciousness, kindness and joy. its the way of Jesus.

tonight some friends and i met to talk about life and God. we talked about many things including this topic of perspective. it amazed me how a person can be single for so many years, craving to have sexual intimacy with another person, and then after they're wed, they realize its not what they thought it would be. disappoinment. struggle. or even better, for the one who is still currently single with the desire for physical intimacy but knows its not going to be as good as he or she dreams. a different perspective follows suite. one that does not rely so heavily on physical measurements, but on character and soul elements. those things that will last forever.

i commented about desiring to simplify my life. even to the possibility of living in a mobile home if i never get married (although i certainly hope i do). but think about it. assuming the cost is low enough to actually make it worth it, imagine all the money you could use to invest and pour into something else that is changing lives, and impacting eternity. what would you sacrifice? reputation. pride perhaps. the "high life." maybe even in today's economy it wouldnt even be worth it, and just easier to get an apartment. but the humility that would come from giving up the rat race to be next door neighbors with the Jones' and freedom to cultivate the core essentials of simply loving, serving, showing grace, and watching miracles is pretty amazing.

i have no idea what Jesus has in mind for me, or you for that matter. but i do know that He is faithful to help us have "perspective checks" every now and then. sometimes to make sure we're really following Him if we claim to be.

i love our world. the micro and the macro. its all so fascinating. may we never stop learning and growing.

i dunno... this one's kinda nice... nice shade under the trees... :)