Perspective Point

I have a headache today. The kind of headache that parks itself between your eyes and threatens to punch its way out through your peeper-sockets.

I've been engaged a very short time, and already I'm surprised by what it takes to plan a wedding. It's fun, but the walls have closed in fast. (A lot like that ride at Six Flags. You know, the ride park officials "retired" because the spinning, closing walls killed that old lady?) Yep. Like that. Already I can't see the forest for the trees. Already I'm sweating over the guest list. (Great Aunt So-And-So, or... no?) Already I'm second-guessing my menu. (White Cheddar Corn Chowder or... Crab Bisque?) Already I'm stuck on colors. (Moss green... or cranberry?) Don't get me wrong. It's a wonderful kind of stress. A happy stress. Wouldn't trade it. (Really, darling, I wouldn't.) But his idea of an elopement is sounding more tempting by the day. Gosh. No wonder they have TV shows about this stuff!

I think I'm letting it get a little out of hand, though. And no one likes things getting out of hand. Not brides, not nice, normal people... not anyone. So with that in mind, I decided I could use a little perspective. A put-down-the-bridal-magazine-and-evaluate-what's-really-important-here kind of moment....

...Oh yeah. This is nice.

It's funny how - in the grand scheme of things - this wedding is just a little blip on my life's radar. It's just a few hours, really, in a whole lifetime of moments and experiences and... life. Sure, it's important. I want to get it right. And sure, it's meaningful. I'll only do this once. But in terms of our lives, it's just a few hours. We'll blink, and all this will be over.

I pulled out this picture just now. It's of Inspiration Point, outside Eureka Springs, Arkansas. (Which is where we're getting married, by the way.) I took this picture on our second date. I remember looking through my camera lens at this lush, picturesque valley and marveling at how big God is. How high He is. How better-than-bird's-eye His perspective on everything must be. And at times like this, I wish I was with Him... sitting on His lap... reading through His glasses... seeing things from His vantage point... viewing things from His perspective....

There's a verse in Jeremiah I've always loved. Jeremiah 24:6. God says, "My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them."

Boy, life gets crazy. Some days you sit down with a headache between your eyes and wonder how you'll make it through another week. And still other days, you're high atop Inspiration Point, marveling at the peace that comes from a higher perspective.

Yep, life's crazy. But no matter where you're standing today in your own crazy life, I hope you take comfort - and strength - in knowing that God is divinely preoccupied with watching over you for your good. That from His perspective, the point is to watch over you, guide you, build you, and plant you - all so you will have a heart to know Him. (Jeremiah 24:7)

I don't know if it helps you, but it helps me. Wedding plans and eye-ball headaches or not - it helps me. And I guess that's the beauty of the view from perspective point.