Indiana has been experiencing some cold weather the past several days. It has chilled me to the bone, since I am not a big fan of winter. While taking my boys to school this morning Ty checked the weather on my iPhone as the temperature on the Envoy read 3 degrees, he stated that it was -34 with -41 wind chill where Grandpa and Grandma live in Manitoba, Canada. Wow, that sent a shiver through me. So what is cold? All about perspective and what we get used too. It brought up memories of the times we were in Manitoba over Christmas with these temps and you still went about your normal business just with a little more urgency when you were outside. The truth is that it is cold but we have to realize that to others this temp would feel good. I told my boys that we probably should not tell our Canadian relatives we had 2 hour delays the past several days for cold. They would probably chuckle. But for us who are not used to it, it was the right decision.
This concept applies to circumstances too. We have things come up in our lives that seem big and overwhelming, but in light of what others are going through it might appear small to them. An example is Bryson’s broken toe this week. In light of all of his other issues, a broken toe is quite trivial and to the many people who are on my prayer list who are dealing with BIG, TOUGH stuff, it’s just a toe!! I had to keep reminding myself of this on Tuesday when I was taking him to the doctor and for x-rays. I found myself having a pity party for myself and grumbling about another bump along his journey. But I realized I can’t stay in that place. We all will experience circumstances in our life but compared to the bigger picture it isn’t something to get depressed over. Yes, I have to recognize that it is a bump but not stay in that place of pity but realize God’s provision and grace. Thankfully it wasn’t anything worse, it was just a TOE.