Perspective

 

Perspective. Such a good word. Something we all crave and even pray for. I know I do.

Yet it is something that can so easily get lost. At least it can for me.

Amidst the laundry, the dishes, the bickering of children, I am often drawn into a smaller view. And in that “smaller” vision, I lose perspective on why I do what I do and why any of it even matters.

Have you ever taken an inventory of what you do all day (as a mother, as a wife, as a woman) and wondered, “Does it even matter?” Or, “Does this even make a difference?”

Me too.

And when my face is in the mud with all that demands and all that is hard, my perspective is likewise…muddy.

His holy purposefulness, His “perspective,” and the fact that He has planned each of my days (and yours) before one of them came to be (Psalm 139) can get lost in the everyday.  The fact that He who created the heavens and stars and the earth and all that is in it with a grander purpose also created you and I with the same intentionality.

I recently heard a sermon that discussed the first miracle of Jesus’ ministry – the turning of water into wine. (See John 2:1-11) The pastor talked about the story in terms I had, quite honestly, never thought about before. He talked about the servant’s perspective, whose job it was to fill up the large jugs with water.

He asked us to keep in mind that the wedding feast was probably NOT situated right next to the well where the water would have to be drawn. The servants would have had to carry jugs of water, as large as they were able, quite some distance to this well, fill them up, lug them all the way back to the feast, empty their jugs into the larger jugs, and then do it all over again.

And again. And again. And again.

Matter of fact, considering the amount of water an average person can carry at one time and the 6 very large jugs they were endeavoring to fill (20-30 gallons each), it is probable that this “filling” of the water jugs at the feast would have taken them over 8 hours to accomplish. That is over 8 hours of carrying water! Perhaps even more.

Just imagine what those servants were saying – to themselves and to one another – as they carried that water. They must have thought Jesus was crazy. Perhaps they were resentful that they had to keep doing the same menial thing over and over again, for someone else’s benefit. Maybe they wondered what the point really was anyway. Maybe they were tired and just wanted to stop.

Can you relate? I know I can.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I can testify in my own life that there have been times I have been weary of “carrying water” too.

Sometimes what He asks us to do just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Sometimes what He asks us to do isn’t glamorous, what we had in mind, or even what we want to do. But even as I can testify that there have been seasons in my life that have tested my resolve to be obedient, I can tell you that they have ALWAYS been worth it.

It’s all in the perspective, really. Jesus can always see the end from the beginning, the good on the other side of the hard, and the purpose in the middle of the mundane. Always.

He is purposeful. In everything.

He is sovereign. All the time.

He is good. Always.

The fact that you or I may have to wait for the revelation of why or how doesn’t rob Him of His purposefulness, His sovereignty, or His goodness in any of it.

So today, I’m telling you and I am telling myself – He is working all things together for good. Yes, even in your faithful folding of laundry. In the faithfulness to which you commit to your marriage. In the serving and loving your neighbors well.

Yes, in all the ways that you “carry water.”

And in Him, He brings it all – the mundane, the messy, and the hard – together…for good.

And you and I are, miraculously and wonderfully, part of that plan to bring His goodness to bear. Truly. And having to wait for it doesn’t make it any less true.

Let that sink in a bit.

You (and I) were created with a purpose in mind. And make no mistake, He makes no mistakes. He doesn’t waste anything, or anyone. So, fold that laundry for the millionth time this week, wrap your arms around your friend who is walking through heartache, pass out that bulletin each Sunday with a smile on your face. It all matters. Because He is working ALL THINGS together for good. And by that same goodness and grace, you (and I) get to be a part of that holy equation, too.

So be faithful in folding that laundry.

Be loving in caring for that friend.

Be committed to loving your husband and children well.

Serve your community with love in your heart.

Carry that water, my friends….and just watch what He does with that.

You might be a part of something miraculous. He just might turn it into wine.

 

The song I want to share with you today is from Nichole Nordeman entitled, “Something Out of Me.” This song cracks me up! Its clarity, wit, and honesty just resonate. I hope you like it.

 

With joy for the journey,

Sarah

Sarah’s heart and passion is to connect worshipers around the globe, with all their gifts and talents, and come before the Throne of God…together. She is a proud Army Chaplain’s wife and homeschool mom of 3 full-throttle kiddos. She and her beloved husband, Jeff, have been married for 21 years.