Perspective

Lately, I have been reminded of what life is, which route to take and where I should be focussing on. As the year draws to a close, it definitely makes people more reflective during this time of the year- makes me reassess what I have been doing, my goals and whether I am heading in the right direction towards them.

My simple goals as a wife and mother used to be
1) make my husband happy
2) make my children happy
3) make myself happy

I guess one glance at this, most wives with children would probably adopt this as well.. But my goals aren't that anymore as I feel that the more you focus on the above goals, the more you will be disappointed. For example, I try to make my child happy by doing things for them, buying what they like. Instead, this may end up not being able to be more independent, or fight over the toys I buy for them and even stop playing after a short while because they get bored of it. Its an endless cycle that will only spiral down to dissatisfaction, disappointment and disillusion. And of course, this wouldn't lead to me being happy in the end. So I have decided that it is useless chasing after these goals or striving to achieve them.

I realised throughout this year that there's only one thing that could bring me and my family JOY and that is to focus on God, my heavenly Father and spend time with Him. (Not too cliché, I hope)

Do take note that I used  the word, JOY and not happiness. Happiness is temporal- like sipping a nice glass of coffee for that ten seconds while joy is the fibre of your soul and it is eternal. It means that bad things may happen around you, but you can still sense the joy in your heart and take comfort in that.

So what is your focus? What are your goals in life? Reassess them and see if they are temporal or eternal.

I used to wish I can go Iceland and dip in hot baths, go Alaska to see the Aurora Borealis (or also known as Northern Lights) but to be honest, all of that seem so faint now that I think of what's more important. I think of a person lying on his death bed, would he wish for all those? I doubt so.. To be honest, I have travelled to so many parts of the world since young as my dad used to bring the whole family around for holidays. But after that, so what? So what if I have been to South Africa, even Hawaii two times, to New Zealand more than four times? It really doesn't matter and no one really cares.

As I focus on my Creator, I know I need to focus on the things He would focus on and that is life eternal. If you compare the life here on this earth, approximately 80 years for most people as to the life you have after death which will be forever and ever...wouldn't you then realise that life here on earth is just going to pass like the wind where everything you try to strive for will just be blown away quickly and not remembered? So why focus on that? Why spend all your time, money and energy on things that will pass away quickly?

 

I know I need to look at the bigger picture and what is really important.

So, if you are going a rough patch or suffering so much that you ever wonder if there is a God up there, I am here to tell you that: "For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is- limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death- He had the honesty and the courage to take His own medicine. Whatever game He is playing with His creation, He has kept His own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that He has not exacted from Himself. He has Himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair and death. When He was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile" (Dorothy Sayers, Creed or Chaos? p4)

May you take on an eternal perspective on things and start thinking about your eternity. Where will you be going? Because THAT really matters!