As I took my morning walk, I noticed neighbors gathering to clear away sections of tree trunks and limbs that had fallen on roofs and cars. Neighbors down the street were huddled around each other to offer support. It was a storm that took everyone by surprise. The straight winds that blew through did tornado-level damage and knocked out power in much of the city. The lack of electricity tested so many of us. I learned how much I love stop lights, internet, and cool air in my home—things we take for granted until they are gone.
The storm’s damage caused me to stop, pause and grab some perspective. The definition of perspective is “the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance.”
What is truly important? How does my character reveal itself when storms come?
Those moments cause me to wonder if I am walking in the genuine joy that sustains me and focusing on what matters. Joy and happiness are different. Happiness depends on our circumstances; joy is the deep-down knowledge that all will be well, even if it’s not going so well at the moment. Joy causes us to look at life from God’s perspective and rest in knowing that even during the worst storms, He’s got us. Joy is life-sustaining. We experience it when we focus on what God has given us
and breathe in those blessings on both good and bad days. Sometimes, those bad days include obstacles that seem too tall and wide to overcome.
The longer we dwell on our negative circumstances, the larger those obstacles loom. Gratitude helps us get past life’s tough challenges. It’s a fearless determination to claim joy in the middle of our brokenness. It takes courage to stand up in the raging storm and look at the clear sky beyond it. Often, we have to strain our vision to see blessings through the clouds, but gratitude is already in front of us. We just need to pay attention, pick up a pen, and make a list.
What are you grateful for? Write it down and watch the skies begin to clear, and your focus turn from “what isn’t” to “what is.”
The storms will come, but the perspective they bring gives us a new way to look at life.