It's a matter of perspective

When I lived in Ontario I found a daily temperature of -9c dreadfully cold and worthy of much shivering and complaining.  I now find myself wearing yoga pants under my jeans, two pairs of socks, a toque and mitts daily.  Each morning I will dutifully check my phone weather ap, hoping to discover a temperature in the single digits where only one layer will be needed.  My heart soared to see a reading of -9, only to have it broken when I discovered that it was indeed -26 and I had in fact left my phone turned to the Cambridge, Ontario page the night before.  I now in true Manitoba fashion scoff the Southern Ontario people when they complain about the snow and cold.

And yet there are those in my community who scoff my complaints.  Those who have lived in Northern Manitoba or the territories, where -40 is the norm.  What?  Isn't -26 cold?  Sure feels cold to me!

I've come to the realization that cold is a matter of perspective.  God created us so ingeniously that our bodies miraculously adapt to our surroundings time and time again.  It's wonderful that my body has adapted to the point where -10 is now no big deal...and good thing since I daily have to deal with much less.  But really, does that make -10 any less painful for the person who is accustomed to nothing below zero?

This has been on my mind lately....but the concept of perspective goes so much deeper than that.  We tend to measure and judge not just the temperature outside, but our stresses, our pain tolerance, our lack of prosperity, our trauma, our hurt, our grief....the list is endless.  We have this idea in our heads that if our situation is "worse" than our neighbours, they have no right to complain.  "Oh, you think you've got it rough...well, I'm dealing with x, y and z.  You've got it easy!"  Does our neighbour feel any better by our lack of empathy?  I think not!

We will always have people in our lives who complain about what seems like the smallest thing.  Their list of issues is endless and it is difficult to have patience with them.  But perhaps their complaining is simply a symptom of a much larger issue....perhaps it is spurned by feeling insignificant and simply wanting attention....maybe they can't express the big, difficult thing in their life and they cope by grumbling about the little things.  I don't know.  

I do know that when someone is expressing hurt, it's not our job to pull out a measuring stick, compare and belittle it.  We read in Philippians 2:1-4:  

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

I pray that God always keeps me mindful of the pain others are going through and sensitive to their hurt and struggle, regardless of my own!  And I'm sorry my Ontario friends....yes, -12 is cold when you live here!  

This animated short does a fantastic job of showing how empathy REALLY works:  http://blazenfluff.com/the-power-of-empathy-animated-short-explains-the-difference-between-empathy-and-sympathy/

Blessed be the name

I have had many great debate with various Christian friends about the song "Blessed Be The Name", specifically because of the Bridge portion which states:

     You give and take away

     You give and take away

     My heart will choose to say

     Lord, blessed be Your name

Those who advocate in favour tend to quote the book of Job 1:20-22:

²⁰ Then Job arose, and rent his mantle and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground and worshiped and said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”  In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Others, who largely have no issue with other segments of the song feel this bridge misrepresents God; although most agree that God allows bad things to happen to us, it is not He who inflicts them.  After all, wasn't it Satan who inflicted Job?  God just let it happen.  Then could it be said that God took away His protection from Job?  Perhaps.  It's a complex confusing topic to say the least.

I have always been on the fence, but this summer has given me a slight lean.

I came to Selkirk at the start of the summer with great expectations.  In my mind I was going to champion the events of the YFC summer.  I had worked hard to get my back in good shape to conquer the long drive.  I was determined to be independent and look after myself.  And then I hurt my ankle.  This impacted me in more ways than I imagined.  

Humbly I was forced to rely on strangers for help on a daily basis.  It embarrassed me to ask friends I'd just met to take out my garbage or help me buy groceries.  I had to relinquish my plans to explore and enjoy my new home and just spend time resting.  I had to miss out on the YFC camping trips and feel at times as though I was inadequate in my job.

Finally last week - after three long months - the fractures in my ankle were pronounced healed.  AMEN!  Then today after a session of physiotherapy I was able to walk for the first time without a cast or crutches and just an ankle brace.  Oh the joy!  But even more so, the deep appreciation I felt for healing....the appreciation to everyone who helped me through this trying time.....the appreciation for the ability to do the things I was able to in spite of my limitations....the appreciation for the opportunities God granted me to feed into young people in spite of not being able to do all the activities - and sometimes because I was left behind.  I learned and grew far more this summer by having my ankle injured than I otherwise could have.  And no surprise, I've been here before when I hurt my back just a few years ago.

So, what's my point?  I don't know if we have a God who simply allowed my ankle to get hurt, or if He in fact set in motion the events that caused it to get hurt.  If it is the latter, so be it!  Because if so, He in His infinite love provided for my every need and used it for my own good.  Do we have a God that in fact "gives and takes away"?  I don't know.  But regardless, my heart will choose to say "Blessed Be Your Name"!  

Blessed Be Your Name - listen and be blessed!

Swimmin upstream

It's been a very long time since I blogged, and looking at all that God has revealed to me in the past year, it saddens me that I haven't made record of it.  But seeing as how the mystery of time travel has thus far eluded me, we shall move forward and press on :)

Which leads me to confession time.  When I envisioned my life as a YFC missionary, I thought it would be so steeped in spiritual matters and ministry that pursuing a relationship with Christ on a personal level would just occur naturally.  I even had a friend who worked on the mission field once tell me that he need not put effort into his faith walk since each and every day was focused on ministry.  HAHAHA!  Nice little lie you've planted there Satan!  Whether you're doing full-time ministry and working in a music store, a relationship with God takes work.  Saying that doing ministry relieves of actively pursuing Christ is like saying that you don't need to work on your marriage because you see each other every day.  I'm quite confident any successfully married couple will agree that you need to focus on your relationship if you want it to be successful.

The truth of the matter is, society will continuously pull us away from living a fully Christ-centred life.  We are constantly being bombarded with messages that tell us exactly what is lacking in our life and how we can pursue true happiness through financial gain, diet, clothing, makeup, relationships, sex...the list is endless.  And with enough subjection to these influences we lose our focus, our strength, our meaning and our value.  While God is speaking in a whisper (1 Kings 19:12), the world is screaming its message at us through a high-def-technicolour-200 watt boss stereo system.  Pursuing God in today's western culture is like trying to walk uphill on a downward directional escalator....or to put it in terms that my new friends would understand here in the catfish capital of the world, it's like a catfish swimming upstream; if you don't consistently put in effort, you will continually be pulled further and further away.

And in my traditional blog-fashion, here's a little song to remind to keep your focus :) Running by Hillsong