Well, a lot has happened since I wrote part one on this topic. Nonetheless, it’s still a very prevalent subject in my own personal “civil war”. I’ve written a great deal on perspective and how we can be our own worst enemy. For years, I’ve said that “growth is gaining perspective and Christian growth is about gaining God’s perspective.” What would life be like if we could just be Christ-minded; to see what God sees and how He sees…and not just some of the time.

We are trained to look through the eyes of someone else; always wondering what they may be seeing or thinking. If we’re not doing that, we’re measuring things on our own yardstick. When that happens, not only do others fall short of the mark but so do we. Let’s not even get started on how we see our circumstances! I’ve certainly cried a river or two while drowning in self-pity and gasping that, “No one could possibly have as dreadful a life as I do”!

There are moments that my lack of proper perspective gets interrupted and I think sensibly and apologetically. I’m humbled by God’s grace that lines me up and out and does so as He guides me into maturity…even when I’ve behaved in child-like fashion. That’s a nice way of saying that I’ve acted like a teenage brat!

Our battleground is in our minds. If we’re not renewing and refreshing them in God’s Word, then we only have the stale imprint of past failures and a defeatist attitude making sure we notice them. We can have the world’s outlook, our outlook, or God’s outlook. The choice seems simple but isn’t. It takes work and determination to keep thinking what God says about you and your circumstances. It’s actually a compliment when things get tough. God is saying you’re tough enough to handle it and He’s got you covered; there’s scripture after scripture that says so but we have to read it to know it! The Bible isn’t a buried treasure but it sure is a treasure when we’re buried!

It’s easy to know the beginning and the end of something…it’s the “in-between” that’s the difficult part! That’s the time we have to trust that when it’s raining, God promised a rainbow. I know it’s trite but in the meantime, I’m grabbing an umbrella!

A dear friend sent me this poem that I read as a reminder to keep proper perspective so my attitude will then follow. When you read it, you’ll know why I call this battle “The War of the Roses”…..

The Sculptor’s Attitude

I woke up early today excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight.
I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important.
My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.

Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or…
I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.

Today I can feel sad that I don’t have more money or…
I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.

Today I can grumble about my health or…
I can rejoice that I am alive.

Today I can lament over all that my parents didn’t give me when I was growing up or…
I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.

Today I can cry because roses have thorns or…
I can celebrate that thorns have roses.

Today I can mourn my lack of friends or…
I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.

Today I can whine because I have to go to work or…
I can shout for joy because I have a job to go to.

Today I can complain because I have to do housework or…
I can feel honored because the Lord has provided shelter for my mind, body and soul.

Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped.
And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.
What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have!!!

Have a GREAT DAY… unless you have other plans.

There are defining moments in a person’s life, we all know that. More importantly, there are defining moments in the life of a child that shape who they are…forever. My parents raised my sisters and me to be avid readers and love books. It wasn’t a suggestion; it was a way of life. For that gift, I am and will be eternally grateful. We are still avid readers and we still love books.

We grew up in the sixties and seventies and didn’t have the technologies that have become fixtures in our current lives. We had three television channels and one telephone…oh, the horror! What would today’s kids do with that?! I hope the same thing that we did. We made our own movies, our own fun, and used this thing called an imagination. Much of what we did came from something we read in a book. Yes, a book!

When we were very young, I can remember getting to go to the newly built Public Library in our community. My mom took the three of us and we were so excited. I remember getting to go to the counter where the librarian handed me a card with my name on it-wow, my very own library card! I got to check out my stack of books and use my card. I felt so proud and so big! My sisters had their stacks and off we went anxiously waiting to get home to our books and read. It’s funny, but I can still remember the smell of that library and how intently I watched the librarian stamp the return date on the card. The whole idea of the library was a thrill!

But…it didn’t stop there! We didn’t get to read just what we wanted; we also had to read something else. My dad came home with the evening newspaper and we were expected to read current events to gain an understanding of what was going on in the world around us. So, we became familiar with news, sports, arts, entertainment, and human interest stories. I didn’t realize it then but my parents were trying to create three well-rounded daughters who were also well-versed in many areas and it was done through being well-read. I appreciate the atmosphere of learning that my parents created for us…we carried on the tradition with our kids too.

I’m not saying that reading is the only thing that shapes a child but it does open one’s eyes to the world created by others through words. Words are important! God spoke the world into existence by using words. Words area creative force and can be used to harm or heal; build or tear down.

Words create a visual. If someone says newspaper, I can envision my parents reading and their three girls sprawled out on the living room floor reading too. Someone can say a word and a memory surfaces and evokes emotion. I can hear the words hot bread and immediately picture my Grandma’s kitchen table covered with her fresh baked rolls and I can even remember the smell. Words can even stimulate our senses-they are that powerful.

God gave us words and He also gave us a book. The Bible is our book, our standard, our history, and our hope. Where would we be without it and most importantly, who would we be without it? This book explains our yesterday, graces our today and hopes for our tomorrow. It gives us an experience no other book can…it doesn’t have an ending! No book can promise a forever or a real “happily ever after”. No author has written that story and no library has housed that copy. There is only one… one story, one Savior, one Cross, and one love…all in just one book.

I can remember three special books that my sisters and I carried every Sunday. Mine was white leather and it zipped with a cross and had my name on the front cover in gold. I remember how I felt when I got that book. It felt different than when I got that library card. What I got at the library was good stories but what I got from that little white Bible was the story and… there was no return date stamped on the card.

If you follow us on any social media, you’ve already seen photos along with a joyful proclamation describing the miracle of a certain cheeseburger. I’m sure many people don’t get why a cheeseburger would be such a big deal.

When our son was diagnosed with Asperger’s, (a high-functioning form of autism) foods became a huge issue. In autism, the sensory system is often compromised. If you think about it, eating involves every one of our senses. Sensory Integration Disorder often comes along with an autism diagnosis which is where the senses operate at a heightened level causing discomfort and over-sensitivity.

Eating becomes very difficult for various reasons which I’ll not attempt to detail. Our son has basically eaten the same 10-15 foods for twenty years. We’ve tried everything that every doctor, specialist, book, therapist, nutritionist and expert has suggested. We’ve prayed, fasted, sown seed, spoken and stood on scripture. We’ve had small breakthroughs and big ones and given God the glory. However, one thing Austin always wanted to eat was a cheeseburger. We would sit with him so many times and give it a try. He would cry, we would try not to cry and not get discouraged…honestly, I would anyway. It was just plain hard-I don’t know any other way to describe such a scene.

Can you imagine eating the same foods every day? I can’t count the days he’d cry or get upset saying, “I just can’t stand the thought of the same food again today.” As a parent, this would break my heart…I couldn’t fix this or make it better and that was my job! In total honesty, every time I’d pack his lunch, I would make a faith confession-“Thank you Lord that the day will come when Austin will eat this because he wants to not because he has to-he has many and varied choices of foods, IN JESUS NAME!” I know God works His word but we have to as well. He is called “Faithful and True” for a reason!

Well, as the story goes…we were driving to Target the other day. On the way, I suggested we try stopping for lunch and having a cheeseburger. We had a discussion about it and he agreed to go after we finished at the store. I can’t tell you the quiet praying that I did in the aisles of Target!

We went to the restaurant, ordered and then it happened…he ate that cheeseburger and loved it! It was a breakthrough of breakthroughs! He’s described the smells, textures, sights, sounds, and tastes of foods in detail. Sometimes, he said foods felt like glass or sand…think about that! We eat and decide what we like and nothing in our being dictates our choice but us and nothing else.

So a cheeseburger is not such a big deal to most but to us it’s right up there with the Jesus feeding the five thousand! He did miracles then and He still does…we just can’t give up even if it takes years. I may not understand but faith doesn’t need a reason…it just speaks the answer!

Faith is knowing God, knowing He's ALWAYS faithful and I have the cheeseburger to prove it!