On one realm it requires taking a few steps out my front door...
passed the red blossom and the random water hose.
(Which, I might add, continues to freak. me. out. as it's been laying in random parts of our yard this past week. Looking a little like Satan from the Garden of Eden... considering that we've recently found two very large, very fearless black snakes in our yard. So yeah. As I'm metaphorically passing this random water hose to get to the other side of Perspective, I'm always pausing a bit to make sure it IS actually an inanimate object. and not something that bites me.
And yes, I am this random in real life.)
Anyhoo.
As I take those few steps out the front door, I'm better able to see this.
And when I walk in the other direction...into the edge of my neighbor's yard. A mere 15 feet from my own. Past the ladder and the scaffolding pieces...
I'm better able to see this:
The almost-finished west side of our home.My Viewing Perch is only a few paces away from my own yard. It takes a couple of seconds to walk. But man, if it doesn't offer me a better view
...of the Bigger Picture.
Jet and I have been hard at painting the house. board by board and section by section. A grueling process to be sure. One that continually requires for us to step back and gain new perspective in order to maintain motivation. in order to better see the entire panoramic view.
And so we step back. sometimes on an hourly basis.
For when we stand in a different place, we're suddenly able to see the entirety of our project, instead of the inch that we happen to be working with at the moment.
I can see how far we've come. how far we have left to go. and the *insert heartfelt whistle* beauty of our work.
I can see where we may have missed a spot. or accidentally dripped some of the white trim paint down on the brown. I can see how that obnoxious marred place in the wood, where I was sure would look obvious to all who passed by, actually disappears upon backing up a few short feet.
Stepping back...it opens my eyes to a whole different perspective. But the point is I can SEE. from an entirely different point of view.
And one day as I did my small trek into the neighbor's yard, the Lord spoke to me.
"I have you in a place of gaining perspective."
And can I be honest? I about wanted to cry with relief. because I've recently been in a place where I've had to just step back from certain things. particular relationships. mindsets. expectations.
Just to reevaluate. to see where I've come from and where the Lord has me headed. to evaluate the attachments I have and whether or not they are God-intended for this season.
I feel like I can get so caught up in the detailed Inch of Life I'm currently working on that I forget to take a moment and remove myself from the particular up close and personal aspect of life to gain a different, healthier perspective on it all.
And so that's what I've been doing. Stepping back. taking it all in. and reevaluating the Father's brush-strokes on the canvas of my life.
