Relevance and Perspective

Relevance and Perspective

I stood in the waiting room at the Emergency Department watching for a moment the two presidential candidates snip at each other. Seemed important but I was on my way to relate to a family their father just died. Somehow they are not relevant to this family right now. Really, they are going to fix our world in four years? Perspective is changed in crisis.

Then there was that beautiful baby being wheeled out in her mother’s arms toward a mid-size car where a proud papa awaits. Yet my own great-grandchild is trussed with tubes and lines fighting for life in another hospital. That wheel-chair seems so irrelevant at the moment. I must keep a positive perspective or the negative will overwhelm.

The price of gas is high. We complained among ourselves at lunch how the over three dollar price would break us and we’d all be riding bicycles. And then I looked up and there he was, shaggy-hair, tasseled beard and riding a 25 year old bike with bed roll on the back. Suddenly gas prices seemed not so bad and a hot meal more the focus. Air in the tires, food in the stomach and a survival perspective.

Two P.M. and my feet hurt, my back aches and my sinuses are plagued by allergies. I’ve been on my feet a lot today and mowing the yard yesterday sure stopped up my head. Poor me. Then I glanced inside the Cancer Center on my way back to my office. There she sat, frail, a doo-rag on her bald head, portable oxygen tank in her lap and slumped over in weakness. Maybe my feet aren’t so bad. Sorry, Lord, I need a fresh new perspective.

Working at a hospital can change the relevant perspective on any given matter. All it takes is an open mind, tender heart and willingness to see. Life and people are relevant, God says so and He always has the right perspective.
Larry Sparks