Vantage Point

OK, so going on a Bahamas cruise in January when you call Kansas home is a beautiful thing! Although coming back to said home involves a considerable degree of anguish, it's worth the pain. We went from 75 degrees in shorts and flip flops to 29 degrees with "make you feel naked" wind...ouch. But the preview of what spring and summer have to offer was nice!

Just a couple thoughts to share. It had been cloudy all week before we left town last Friday. Not just the few puffy clouds in the sky kind of cloudy, but the "I don't even know if there is still a sun" kind of cloudy. The kind where after a few days, you start to realize that it's affecting your mood rather strongly, especially when you find yourself staring at screen savers of sunsets and the like.

So we got on the plane at 6:25 Friday morning. It's just before dawn, but darker than normal because it's still cloudy. As the plane takes off, I'm watching my 4-year-old peer out the cabin window, enjoying how he gets a kick out of how fast we're going as the trees below shrink into shrubs. It's not long before we're reaching the layer of clouds that have shrouded the Midwest like a dirty blanket all week, and within seconds we're poking out the other side. As we do, I catch the first glimpse of the sun rising in the east.

A simple moment in time, but a small voice inside said, "The sun still shines even when you can't see it." Though hidden from view, it's still there. It is faithful to rise and shine throughout every waking moment of the day (and night), regardless of my ability to see its light or feel its warmth. Too often, I allow my vantage point on earth to dictate how I think about the things I don't see, and as such, I limit myself to the visible, predictable, mediocre. God is none of those things, so why do I allow myself to think that way? Why do I let the immediate overrule the eternal?

The sun still shines even you can't see it. Change your vantage point. See beyond what you can see. Because when you decide to change, everything changes for you.