Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. . . For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. . . So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
(Portions of 2 Corinthians 4 NIV)
I am a true believer in finding teachers everywhere! In the past few weeks there have been two “teaching” experiences that I want to share with you.
The first is a tree I found while wandering the rocks waiting to watch a ship come in at Two Harbors. The picture at right shows how this tree is growing strong and steady in the small cracks between the rocks. What was even more fascinating was when I looked closer there was a sharp long rock going in one side of the tree and coming out the other side. I don’t know if a storm pushed the rock through the trunk or if it grew around it.
I sat for a long time looking at the tree and the rock, thinking about resilience in the midst of adversity.
Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress. It is a quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than letting failure
overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes. Research has shown that resilience is ordinary, not extraordinary. It is available and possible for all of us!
The second “teaching” experience happened when I was spending a few days at a resort with friends. Maddy, a very curious almost three-year-old, was exploring the cabin. She opened a drawer, found a Bible and brought it to her aunt Becca to read. Becca told her the book was a bit too difficult so they created a game where Becca would point to a letter or number and Maddy would confidently tell her what it was.
They were having a great time until Becca pointed to a W and Maddy said, “that’s an M.” Becca told her it really wasn’t an M but it is like an upside down M. Maddy was silent for a few moments, then reached out and turned the book the other direction. She smiled and said, “now it is an M!” Then I smiled and thought, hmm… sometimes it is just a matter of perspective. Maybe that is what Jesus meant when he said we need to “become like little children.”
Perspective has a Latin root meaning “look through” or “perceive,” and all the meanings of perspective have something to do with looking. “Keep things in perspective” means to look at the whole “picture,” to see things in their proper relation/proportion to the whole. The idea is something like stepping back from the something you are concerned about so you can see other things too.
Resilience and perspective, from the teachers among us!
Blessings,
Pastor Cindy