Perspective

I'm usually a beach girl. I love the water and everything about living on the water. I could stare at the ocean daily with the sand in my toes and see glimpses of God every time. The waves remind me of His faithfulness. The sand reminds me of how detailed He is that He can number it. The ocean reminds me of His power. His character is in every part of it, and I never tire of how I feel when I am there seeing, smelling, and taking it all in. It just never gets old.

I married a man who isn't a beach guy at all though. Oh, he goes to satisfy me and the kids, but it's not his favorite place to be when he wants to relax and unwind. He grew up vacationing in the mountains. So, as any good wife would do, I decided I would "sacrifice" a vacation one year early in our marriage, and we would go to the mountains. Well, I fell in love with the beauty! Oh, I'm still a beach girl, and moving to the eastern shore was a dream come true. I could "beach it" every day in the summer! :) Yet, every year, especially in the Fall, we enjoy visiting the mountains and enjoying the beauty of God's set of crayons. Normally, that would be Gatlinburg, but now that we live a little further away, we decided to hit the Shenandoah National Park area, which is a little closer to home. We took off last Thursday for a couple of days to get away as a couple and spend some time together. It was yet another amazing experience to see fresh glimpses of a whole different aspect of this amazing earth He has created. Sean and I took a drive on Skyline Dr. which is notorious for its views. It did not disappoint. As we started going up, we'd stop at one of the viewing sites to take it all in. We'd get to a spot that was 1,000 ft. up..."Wow! Look at that view!" Then, we'd drive some more and come to an area that was 2,000 ft. ...."Amazing! Check out that huge mountain!" Continuing to drive along the parkway with the sunlight streaming through the trees, we got to one of the higher points at 3,340 ft. Remember that mountain that looked so huge? We were now looking down on it! And there were more mountains yet above us. It just was breathtaking! I couldn't help but think how our perspective changed. Going from the ground to 1,000 ft., then 2,000 ft, and then to 3,340 ft. What looked at the start as a colossal expanse of mountains above us became something that was below us. What changed? Our view. That day I got a glance of how God sees everything. To us, the mountains are huge. Life is hard. Circumstances are difficult...sometimes overwhelming. Yet, His view is from above. Every mountain in our life may appear to overshadow us, but to Him....from His perspective looking down, they're all small. Nothing is too big for Him!

I was glad to get back home to the shore, but I will not forget the picture lesson I received last weekend. I encourage everyone to get out of their familiar environment at some time in some way and experience something unfamiliar so you, too, can see. All of God's creation has something fresh to show us about the Creator who made it. It was a refreshing reminder that perhaps, we just need to get a different perspective. God's perspective. He doesn't discredit our difficulties in any way, but He is over them all. Whatever is going on in your life and mine, He's big enough to handle them all. We can trust the One Who spoke it all into existence. He can not only enable us to scale a mountain, He can move them, and melt them. (Psa. 97:5) Trust Him Whose view is sovereign over your life. It's an amazing comfort to trust the One Who is higher than we are. We can go from looking up to the insurmountable mountains to becoming conquerors on the mountaintop. Whose perspective will you have?

"Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:1-2