Perspective...

We were fortunate to have our brother John visiting from Boston over the Memorial Day weekend. On Monday afternoon, we grilled beef kabobs, chicken kabobs, burgers, hot dogs and corn on the cob. My thinking was if I grilled a lot of food at once, we could have the leftovers for dinner and throughout the week (I'm always looking for ways to cook less!!). At lunch time, David was allowed to eat a lot of food, but there were some hot dogs left. Now you need to realize that David LOVES hot dogs. I think, given the right circumstances, David would kill for a hot dog. So needless to say, David was not happy that there were hot dogs left that he was not allowed to eat. We kept telling David he could have those hot dogs for dinner but he was not happy with that answer. The more time went on, the more upset David became. When we did eat dinner, David was allowed to have the remaining hot dogs, but by that time he was very upset and agitated.

In his perspective, we were not fair to him and we mistreated him. Now, anyone taking a good look at David can see that he is not malnurished, but his perspective was only on the hot dogs he couldn't have, not on the pretzel dish he is allowed to eat out of at any time, or of the bananas and oranges on the counter he could have had. He focused his perspective solely on those hot dogs.

I know David's conditions, and I know that he never gets a feeling of fullness after eating. David will eat until he throws up and still want to continue eating. To be a good caregiver, I have to "cut him off" and not let him eat as much as he wants. My perspective tells me I'm taking care of him; his perspective tells him that I'm being unfair and mean.

I think as a Christian I think of God the same way. There are things I want but God won't give them to me. For example, Rich and I have wanted children for many years. We have had two miscarriages. It has been easy for me to think of God as being mean and keeping me from something I want, but the truth is that God knows what is best for me and is protecting me. It's all in the perspective. Let's all be sure that we try to see God's perspective and not our own as we go through our days.