Perspective

Back when I was in college, one of my sisters spent a year in Japan as an exchange student. Mom fussed over her being so far away, and worried that she might be homesick. She got the idea to record the conversation at our annual Thanksgiving gathering, particularly around the dinner table, and send it to my sister so she could share the family togetherness even though she was miles away. Everyone agreed it was a good idea. At first, people were a bit self conscious, but soon they forgot that they were being recorded and settled down to the business at hand.

Oh's and Ah's flew round the table as the golden turkey came out of the oven. Spoons clinked against plates as mounds of potatoes, heaps of stuffing and the inevitable cranberry sauce got dished up. There would be snatches of conversations followed by quiet as people dug in and savored the familiar dishes - punctuated by comments about missing Gram's oyster stew that had always been on the table when Gram was alive, wondering where Uncle Loran was that year, thinking of friends far away.

Before she mailed the tape, Mom played it, curious to know what my sister would experience. She smiled as familiar voices commented and topics came and went. At one point, my youngest sister asked for the potatoes to be passed. She said it nicely, with the appropriate please. Voices carried on. A few minutes later, she asked again, just as nicely, while conversations continued. This repeated for quite some time until my sister got fed up with asking, and yelled, "Pass the potatoes!" whereupon she was reprimanded for yelling and told to ask nicely.

Its not that my Mother didn't want to give her the potatoes, its just that she didn't hear her ask. You have to be listening to hear the needs around you, especially the ones you are able to meet. I am beginning to listen. I want to hear the voices around me, especially those who are at my table, as they ask for me to pass them the potatoes that they need. I want to hear the voices of those who are far away, too. Last week at church we had a speaker talk to us of his work in places worldwide where there is great need. He works with teams who go in after a natural disaster and assess the needs, work with organizations and countries to provide relief, and after the basic needs are met, continue to work towards restoring life as it was before the big destruction. I see the pictures, I hear them. They need help. My perspective improves vastly. My battles are not so big.

I am fussing over black ants in my house, they are without a house. I am fussing about taking time to drive to the grocery store to get food, they walk miles in the blazing sun for a bowl of rice. I am grumpy over company in my house, they are searching for loved ones thought dead. Right now my battles seem insignificant compared with the people in Kansas who just lost their entire town. I am in great shape compared with people still struggling to put their lives back together after 911 or the tsunami or New Orleans or any of the dozens of disasters that have hit the world recently.

I choose to be content with where I am and what I have, and focus on those around me. I trust that when my battles get tough, God will send the needed help. And right now, while I am waiting for things to be decided, I will be someone else's needed help. So, what do you need? Let me know how I can help you today. I will do my best to hear you. It will help me keep things in the proper perspective.