MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

Before we moved to Tucson, nearly 5 years ago, we lived in California..about 30-45 min. east of Los Angeles (in good traffic that is). It's interesting how you learn to adapt to whatever environment you're in..sometimes whether you like it or not. I had to commute 2 hours every day to work and 2 hours back home. Most of that time was spent in slow traffic or better yet, the infamous traffic jams. I hate just sitting for what seems like an eternity, just listening to the radio so I would actually bring my knitting with me and get a few rows of knit & purl going while I was waiting for traffic to move. Don & I were involved with starting up a church in Simi Valley, so we would drive 1-1/2 hours every Sunday to church, where we also served in various ministries. We actually enjoyed the drive because we would stop in Pasadena on the way and get a Noah's Bagel (same as Einstein's here) and a Starbucks and have time to visit with each other. Living near the L.A. area meant that you almost never got a front parking space and had to leave a hour (or more) ahead of time to get to a certain event in a different suburb. We would go to a restaurant at 8pm on a weeknight and still encounter an hour or more wait for a table. But eventually, you just learned to deal with all these things.

Now that we're in Tucson, we've adapted to the culture out here and often take things for granted. I rarely ever have to get on a freeway to get where I'm going. We laugh every time we score a close parking space during the height of people out & about. There's rarely an hour wait at any restaurant, even a popular chain. The only metered parking and parking garages are downtown. And food is A LOT less expensive here.

I hear people gripe about stuff out here or even at church and it never ceases to amaze me. I think of what we had to do in L.A. just to get to church to serve or even when we lived in Phoenix and served at 4 services each weekend. We were glad to do it and never hesitated to volunteer. Maybe it's because we grew up in churches who didn't do much outreach or didn't have a clear vision or goal but we just couldn't get enough of serving and still can't. Sometimes it is frustrating to me when I hear people make suggestions to change things just so it is more convenient for them while they're serving or attending or complain about petty things that have nothing to do with the big picture.

I guess my challenge to everyone out there this Easter is to remember what's truly important. What Jesus considered important enough to die for and that's making sure we had the chance to have a close friendship with him and with God and life with him even after death. Those things would not have been possible if Jesus thought only of serving when he wanted to, complained about how things weren't convenient for him or didn't care enough about us to die for us. Whether you believe what Jesus did or not, it doesn't matter. His offer of friendship is always there. It's your choice to take it. And it's the best thing ever. I'm speaking to myself as well because like I said...I often take these things for granted or do my own share of complaining.

So if you're serving in a ministry or no matter where you're living...do life with a smile and a generous heart.

John 3:16