Perspective changes everything. . .

 “What we see depends mainly on what we look for.”  ~ John Lubbock

I awoke this morning with burning desire to head to town and rummage through the local Goodwill. In a desperate attempt to justify driving the 40 mile round trip when there wasn’t anything that I absolutely needed, I decided to clear out a few of our closet shelves. A trunk full of donations could surely justify the trip. Right?

While digging through the mountains of rarely worn clothing items that I had ripped off of the shelves, I came across some jeans. . .

Excited, I uncrumpled  them thinking they were jeans that I had stashed to wear “someday.” Instead, I found something completely different. Unfolding in my hands was a pair of jeans that I had struggled wear just over a year ago. I thought I had gotten rid of all my old clothes. . .

For a brief instant, while staring at the large jeans in front of me, I felt like hurling my breakfast all over the bed–the harshness of reality tends to have that effect on me.  I really couldn’t believe that not that long ago, I was bigger than those jeans.

I tossed them in the pile, disgusted with myself for ever having allowed my weight to get so completely out of control. I wanted them out of my sight as they were nothing more than an ugly reminder of an unhealthy chapter in the story of my life.

As I continued packing up the many bags to give away, the jeans somehow worked their way to the bottom of the stack. I finally picked them up to stuff into the bag and that’s when I decided to give those jeans one more look. The second time around? I saw those jeans much differently. . .

Instead of looking at them and beating myself up over a chapter in my life that was so in my past, I decided to rejoice; to celebrate the beauty of how far I have come. The jeans looked totally different when I chose to see them in a positive light.

I decided to put the jeans back in my closet and keep them for a while longer. I plan to pull them out now and then–to reflect and to rejoice in the grace of the journey.

It’s funny how perspective changes everything isn’t it?