Keeping a Bigger View

Have you ever noticed that the more familiar you are with something the less you actually look at it? Think about editing your Christmas letter or a paper for work or school. Often you misspell the most common words or names. Why? Probably because you know what you mean or who you are referring to so as you read it your mind sees what you meant to say. There are times we need to take a step back and see things from a new point of view or ask for some input from an outside source. That was where I found myself recently. I was stuck in the familiar. I needed a new point of view. A friend posted this beautiful photo of fall in Iowa from his home.  It reminded me that I was missing the overall beauty of fall.

A different view of fall

Every fall I help my husband and his business partner do the final clean up of the townhome properties they take care of. This means blowing leaves out of tight spots around the townhouses and out of the landscaping throughout the properties. The largest property is 17 acres has a wide variety of trees with ponds. Overall it is beautiful. We live on this property and the landscape was a large part of why we chose to live here. However, when we are doing final clean up I do not see the bright fall colors of the leaves. In fact I barely even see the trees themselves.  Blowing out the deep, deep piles of leaves often causes them to swirl around me. My view is limited by the dust and dirt engulfing me. I am focused on moving the mess surrounding me and not falling in the process not the beauty of the whole property.

It strikes me that is similar to the way we often live our lives. Our day to day work whether at home or in an office somewhere can become something to accomplish, something to get done rather than something to enjoy. In fact in the midst of the day to day we can get so wound up in getting something done that we miss out on the real value of what we are doing. That limited view can cause me to be crabby,  make poor decisions, or even to quit, at least for the day.  I am a wife, mom, nurse, lay counselor and manager who cares for others, encourages others, challenges others and holds others accountable to who they are. Sometimes however, I get so caught up other peoples’ needs that I forget I am not the only one available to help others. That is an overwhelming and completely wrong way of thinking that I have fallen into more times than I can count over the years. Left alone in that nasty trapped type thinking never leads to a good result.

In light of the negative, divicive atmosphere of social media over the past year or so I nearly gave up on my goal to help bring truth and hope to every day life. I all but quit writing the things from my heart. Over the past few weeks my limited view was revealed (again) and I was reminded of the real perspective. I am not alone in believing in an unlimited God. In today’s messy, confused and often condeming world we need to be sharing real life and real love. I am excited to announce that Treasure Chest Ministries is building a team of people, real people in different seasons of life or from different places or backgrounds to share the truth of living with our unlimited God.  We can’t “fix” the world. We can learn from one another. We can make life richer by getting out of our familiar rut and engaging in respect-filled conversation with others. We do not have to agree to have relationship with one another. THAT is a lesson we all need to learn no matter our age, race, faith or occupation. So over the next few weeks I will be introducing our team of real people hoping to expand your view of life. We want to engage in real converations. We want to challenge each other to be our best self in the world we live in. We want to learn to love one another in kind, respectful ways by sharing our lives with you. Will you join us? Have you been tempted to just retreat lately? Comment below. We would love to hear what is challenging you.