Perspective

Last weekend I was talking to a beautiful strong woman (a wife and a mother of three) who has been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer (I have her permission to share). She has undergone double mastectomy and is prepping to start an aggressive form of chemotherapy. As I empathized with her, marveling at the sheer strength she has shown in the last couple of months, she gives me a chuckling smile and says “at least it’s not at stage 4 where they would have told me I have 3 months to live”. She has managed to find a silver lining in this ominous cloud of a situation.

That attitude, I have come to find out helps a lot when dealing with difficult situations. Yes we wish those situations will not arise in the first place but they do and WHEN they do, your attitude goes a long way in helping you cope. I adopted the same “at least it is not…” attitude as I went through my own health challenges in 2017. Feeling grateful in the midst of pain and unanswered “whys” is refreshing to the tired soul.

So James says “count it all joy whenever you face trials of many kinds.” For such trials test our faith and produce maturity in us. It is said that “life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.”

If we adjust our attitude and perspective God will use every difficult situation we encounter to draw us closer to Him and teach us something through it. Unfortunately not every trial, affliction or difficulty moves us closer to God. Most often when it is too much for us to bear or it is unexpected, we pull away from Him, sometimes angrily, wanting nothing to do with Him and blaming Him for our predicament.

The best posture to assume in such situations is one of complete trust in the Lord. It is comforting to know that though we may not understand some of the things we experience, someone greater who loves and cares for you unconditionally gets it and will work it all out for you in the end. Just do your best to hear what He is teaching you through that period.

A shift in perspective is paramount to coping with hard situations.

Blessings.
Love, Lady Monica