By Kelcie Kinchen/GuestColumnist
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE —
A lot of times in our lives we run from things we encounter. We are walking along our perfect, little brick walkways, all happy-go-lucky to what we expect or hope awaits us at the end of this walk.
Then we are interrupted. All a sudden a wall comes up out of nowhere, an unexpected guest along the quiet, calm walk you were on five seconds ago, or a hole we didn’t see that causes us to stumble along our way. These unexpected, ‘surprise’ visits along our walk in this life have the ability to ultimately shatter the walk into a stance of being idle. The walk no longer is in motion due to the things life has thrown our way and we freeze, or in worse scenarios, we turn and walk back towards everything we came from. Turning around is the same as unweaving every stitch of work God has done in our lives along the journey.
I question God a lot as to why we do this. Why do we run? Why do we turn around at the first sign of failure? Why do we simply stop?
By the way, I believe it is only human to question God. He surely expects us to. We aren’t meant to understand it all. His good ole’ book said so. In Isaiah 55: 8 it says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” That’s pretty straight forward to point out the fact that we don’t have a clue. Being the stubborn humans we are, questioning gets us talking to Him and opens a door for Him to step in and do some much needed rearranging in the heart department if you ask me.
I know many of my big heart to heart moments with God started with me being angry and asking one question. That’s all it took for Him to show me I was looking at the situation all wrong. His desire is to be in constant communication with us. He intended it to be that way from the very beginning.
Now back to the questions. Why do things we unexpectedly find on our walks of life catch us in a state of panic? Why do they make us stop? Why do we take off running? I find it sort of comical that we do. Do we honestly think this walk is supposed to be all daisies and sunshine? Newsflash. It’s not. Yes, there will be bumps in the road and storms along the way. You might get a few cuts and scars along the way but in the end it is worth it all. The key to it all to avoid the running, stopping, and panic is one simple thing. Perspective.
I heard it said once that a situation or problem is all about how you look at it. I honestly didn’t give that statement much thought till I encountered some things along my own walk recently that needed some serious perspective for me to avoid the panic and kept me from turning all 5’2” of me around and running back to the familiar places I knew, the comfortable places. I had to make a choice to look at that wall in front of me and take a few steps back to get a better view. I could see the other side over the wall from another perspective and it didn’t seem so dark and penetrating since it wasn’t five inches away from my face anymore. God revealed this to me and it seriously has changed my whole outlook on everything. For Him the walls and potholes placed in our path are nothing. He doesn’t see them as we do. Often the things we think are so huge and life altering aren’t that big of a deal with the perspective of the Father.
We catch a form of teenage girl syndrome, as I call it, and the drama queen sets in us all at the first sign of something we didn’t expect along our journey. We all have a tendency to make mountains out of molehills and puddles into vast oceans we think we will drown in. With Him beside us along this journey He gives us the perspective to overcome the mountains in our way and not turn and run in fear. With Him, we are overcomers to anything set in our path. We can’t always see what is set in front of us because we are standing so close. Sometimes the things we fear aren’t so scary after taking a few steps backwards to get a better look.
Situations are the same way in our lives. A circumstance might seem hopeless but try looking at it from another angle and you might find a little hidden hope. A circumstance you thought was a roadblock might turn into something that you were supposed to encounter along the walk to help get you where you are supposed to be. It’s all about perspective. Once we grasp that we will no longer run from unexpected encounters but embrace them and take them for what they really are and not by what we see at a first glance.
To you a circumstance might be life-altering but it might be a blessing in disguise that you really need in the long run. Stepping back and taking another look can sometimes change the whole picture and help us continue walking down the path He has set before us in confidence and joy.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9
