Perspective

While I complain about our grocery bill or get bored with our dinner menu, 58% of Haiti's population is undernourished. And every day, 16,000 children will die from a hunger related cause. And it's not just Haiti.... maybe this will change your dinnertime blessing, it has mine!

And the next time I go to complain about how many kids I want and when I want them.... I will remind myself to look at this. Some countries have a 50% infant mortality rate. Can we really say we are suffering? I think suffering in America has a whole different definition than what the rest of the world might deem as suffering. Children are definitely a gift from the Lord, how am I treating my gifts?

And I know I can find myself complaining about my wardrobe, space in my house, or that gas is too high. But, here are some real problems people carry around:

7.6 million people will die of cancer this year

220 million have diabetes

1.8 million people died of AIDS last year

33.3 million people are living with AIDS

Am I thanking God for the health or myself and my loved ones?

And, while we may have disagreements and issues with our spouses.... some do not view marriage as a vowed lifelong commitment. Am I praying for my marriage and investing time and energy into it?

41% of people will divorce in their first marriage

60% of people will divorce in their second marriage

73% of people will divorce in their third marriage.

And while we complain about our finances, retirement, college funds, ect....

1 in every 200 homes will foreclose

The average consumer debt is $7,800 per person in your household, NOT including real estate

33% of this debt is totally consumer debt, aka credit cards

67% of this debt is auto loans, student loans, ect.

and the average new car loan is $27,000

and 1 in every 160 people will file bankruptcy

Am I trusting God will my money, making wise choices about spending, and honoring God with my tithe?

It is all about perspective. YOU can change your perspective. And you can pray and ask God to bring His truth and help you with your perspective.

We are reading, Death by Suburbs and I have been thinking about all of this. Here is an email from our group leader that asked some great questions.
The Bible is clear that we will all face tribulation. We don’t have to go looking for trouble in order to legitimize our faith, and we absolutely don’t want to confuse getting a bad parking place with suffering. We live in a fallen world and suffering will touch us all- guaranteed. We don’t know what that tribulation will look like- chronic illness, premature death of a loved one, job loss, etc- but when it comes, God will expect us to ‘stand firm until the End.’
Given the following four options (1) an attack from the devil, (2) discipline from God, (3) the result of living in a fallen and sin-filled world, (4) you reap what you sow, how do you tend to view the pain/suffering/disappointment you experience in life? If you say, “it depends on the circumstances,” then how do you decide which theory fits a particular circumstance? How does your perspective influence the way you respond to pain/suffering/disappointment?

Are we having a pity party for our life? I know I do sometimes. Satan truly wants to kill, steal, and destroy your life.
I need to get over it, pull my bootstraps up, and focus on the blessings God has poured out in my life. While at the same time, extending my arms out to those really in need and raising my children to live self-lessly and help those around us.