We've all heard the sayings about beauty and art being in the eye of the beholder. While I find the first to be true and the latter very much debatable, I want to add gratitude to the list of things that are in the eye of the beholder. Not gratitude in and of itself, but the things that we are, or should be, grateful for.
Last week I was sick. I had some kind of virus that gave me a sore throat, made me cough and sneeze, and just made me feel icky and sleepy overall. I was annoyed that I had to use two PTO days because I was too exhausted to work from home on two of the four days I was home sick. I was even more annoyed that I was sick right before my best childhood friend who I hadn't seen in two years was flying in for the weekend to see me. I was annoyed because my dogs were only getting short walks and that I didn't have someone to walk them while I was sick. I was annoyed that none of my household chores and other deliverables were getting done.
While I was lying in bed moping about being sick, I got a phone call from my dermatologist. A few weeks ago, I had two of my many moles removed because they were growing and/or itching at times and just plainly looked abnormal to me. This wasn't the first time. I had a big mole on my back removed about a year ago. The reason I am talking about this is not to gross you out. I had forgotten (or intentionally suppressed) that I was expecting to hear back from the dermatologist on the results of the biopsy.
When the phone rang and I realized who and what it was, suddenly all my thoughts of being sick with a cold vanished. I prayed to God that the results were normal. I was flooded with fear at the thought of what would happen if the results were abnormal. Within 5 seconds I thought about all of the medical procedures I would have to go through, the possible cancer treatment, who would take care of my dogs, how would I pay for all of it, how would I tell my mom on the other side of the world…
"Ms. Kelly, both of your moles were normal, so no further treatment is necessary"
Sigh. Thank you God.
After that, I wasn't annoyed anymore. I praised the Lord for the good news and thanked Him for being so good to me. I thanked Him for not being permanently sick, for having a job that allows me to work from home, for having PTO time, for being able to see my best friend, for having my dogs to comfort me, for having people in my life who love me, for having a roof over my head, for having food….
'In the eye of the beholder' is a fancy expression for 'perspective'. When we put things into the right perspective, they don't look so bad anymore. What are things in your life that you need to put into the right perspective?
