Perspective

Have you ever pondered how, as a child, time would go by incredibly slowly and Christmas was almost always unpardonably distant...and then you grew up. Now, when December hits, you're wondering where the year went.

Lately, I've been reflecting on the power of perspective. I think of my sister, Noelle, who is just days away from coming home from her mission in Armenia. She probably feels like it has flown by, and yet, on those difficult days when the hoodlums throw trash at them and it's a holiday where she would normally be with family (and nephews, of course), and she comes home to no heat in the middle of winter with icicles hanging from the ceiling due to a pipe burst...you get the idea...I'm sure she was thinking, "another YEAR of this?!"

It's kind of like when you have a long, hard semester, your first semester of grad school. And it's not just hard because you're expected to learn and apply a lot of information that will affect people's lives, but it's also a matter of pleasing picky professors who sometimes contradict each other (or themselves). Finals are a-coming, but you know you have a lot more baloney ahead of you before graduation. When that time comes, though, you'll look back at all the hoops you jumped through and maybe say, "That's okay, it was worth it." Maybe?

Or have you ever considered that what you always thought was the "daily grind" may actually be a brief phase of your life at which you look back and treasure as a time when you had it all?

Perhaps it's temporarily living in a less-than-desireable place? Every time your arm-and-leg rent is due you think of all the annoyances: the inconvience of the layout, the neighbor's smoke creeping in under your door and through the vents and pipes, the outdated design, the cheap appliances, the expensive-yet-ineffective heating. But you know it's important not to grumble too much and that two years will pass quickly (if you let them).

There are countless ways my perspective continues to change my attitude (for good or ill) and I could go on and on, but I don't want to lose you (this isn't a journal entry). So, here's what is on my mind: Noah has been showing signs of readiness to walk for a few weeks now. He walks with his walker and forces me to walk him around during Sunday school and such. With Isaac, I was like, "Do it! You're almost there! When will he walk already?" With Noah, I'm like, "Oh, that's cute, but let's not." I know progression is part of the plan, that development is divine, but it's just hard for me to let go of that baby phase. Then, last night, Noah took his first steps without holding on! Now I'm excited again, but still in no hurry.