The View From Here

I’m sitting here wondering what in the world am I going to blog about this week?   I’ve had several ideas come to mind, but nothing just stood out.  I thought about trying to use this new list of sentences that you’re supposed to use when you’re trying to encourage someone to succeed…

You can do better.

Give it all you’ve got.
I’m so proud of you.
How can I help?
I’m here if you need me.
I’m glad you’re here.

But everything I came up with just didn’t seem to be the right thing to say or I couldn’t say it in the way that sounded like it fit.  So I tossed it out….LOL!  Actually, it’s in my note file and I’ll use it later.

However, I have had this one thought going over and over in the back of my head that Donna and I were discussing a few weeks ago.  I wrote it down and labeled it “The View from Here” because that’s basically what it described.  The view from where we were at the time and it was an unbelievable view. 

As you walk the path of life, sometimes that path can be really rough.  At times you might think you’re never going to make it through, but somehow you do.  The thing that Donna and I were discussing was a comment she made concerning our life.  She said, “As you travel the road of life and you look over your shoulder, you don’t always see the beautiful brooks and the fields of clover.  You don’t see the beautiful things you want to see.  You actually see the rocks and the hills; you see the valleys and the cliffs that you’ve had to walk through and hang over.  It’s when you look from a distance at what you’ve been through and over come and realize that what you see isn’t the rough roads and the rocky ledges, but a beautiful mountain with a breathtaking view of what God has allowed you to walk through, together”.

The thing that sticks out the most is the fact that we look over our shoulder instead of turning around to look at what we’ve just come through.  Looking over the shoulder only gives you a view of the closest thing to you.  It doesn’t give you a good look at everything.  If you can’t see the beauty of the path and all you can see is the danger, you’re not going to appreciate the path…you’ll regret it. 

We’ve all heard to leave the past in the past and we should.  But at the same time we’ve got to learn from it.  We’ve got to understand that not everything about the past was unpleasant.  There were some beautiful brooks and some peaceful fields that allowed us a place to relax.  At times we were able to walk down paths covered with huge trees that provided protection from rain and sometimes the hot sun.  Not everything was a cliff and steep hills of rough, sharp rock. 

So the next time you feel like life is too rough and you need a little encouragement…stop, turn around and look at what God has allowed you to face.  What you’ll see is a breathtaking view of waterfalls and snow capped mountains.  Seeing that will make you feel like you can overcome anything because you’ve come through and over everything.  You’ll realize that the view from here is actually uplifting, encouraging and will give you the strength to keep pressing forward.  Ain’t God good? 

Just my thoughts on a page.