Lesson of the timeline

I had to create a time line of my life yesterday. It is hardly complete.

Then today, all day, I have been overwhelmed by something. I tried all sorts of things to shake it. Fortunately, I have no mind-altering vices, But I still did things that prolonged it by trying to avoid it. I surfed the Net. I ate Peanut butter cups. I played video games with my son...

I was stuck until I told someone whom I care about that I was having a problem. She didn't respond with sympathy. She responded with empathy. Empathy understands the problem and suggests a course of action that can resolve it. But the exchange did something more profound. It allowed me to look at what was bothering me instead of wallowing in the difficult feelings I was experiencing. I was embarrassed to expose this struggle to her. But she proved herself up to the challenge. A few simple lines and it started my mind thinking about what was on the time line.

Then I realized why I was so down. My time line was full of the events that ended in a loss to me. Correction, it is full of events that I view as a loss. My first response was, No wonder I am down, I am counting my losses, not my blessings. That is a lesson I learned this summer!

But now I have I realized something deeper. I need to change how I view each of these events. I need to see them for what they are. Not a mixture of bad luck, poor decisions, and malicious people, but as opportunities to learn and develop, opportunities to bless and overcome. There is a grand opportunity here in my life. It will require that I continue this journey toward viewing life as God created it, not as I interpret it.

My perspective must continue to be renewed and refined. Just look back at this post. Look how many "I"s I have in it. When my perspective is renewed, I bet the "I"s won't be there.