The Power of a New Perspective

Last Saturday, I attended a half day conference and heard a speaker talk on Designing Your Life; it was amazing!  I got so much out of it; I took seven-teen pages of notes as I listened to her speak and share words of wisdom, from her personal life experiences.

Whenever I attend a gathering and have pages and pages of notes, I always try to condense it to one page of bullet points, with the main things that I want to focus on and apply to my life, at the time.  After doing so on Saturday, this is some of what I had written down:

• My need: be free
• My desire: be happy
• My legacy: be myself

I shared this with my lifecoach this week and she pointed out to me how great it was that they were all “to be” statements and they were not about “doing” anything.  This is huge for me, for I am such a check things off my to-do list type of person.  I realized, I really am becoming free (my word for this year)!  It was very encouraging to me.  How freeing it is to know that the legacy I will leave on this earth is so much more about just being myself than it is about anything that I may do before I leave this earth.  I truly believe that!

Another set of bullet points that I wrote was:

• Slow down
• Ask for wisdom
• Enjoy the journey/the process

At first, I titled this as my daily “to-do list” but then I stopped and changed it to “today’s doables:)”  What a difference changing up these two littles words made!  It has a completely different feel to it when I see it not as a “to-do list” but instead, I see it as “today’s doables”!

God gave me a new perspective about school this week, as well.  I have been feeling somewhat sad that I will be graduating in the Spring, for I will miss school (not the writing of papers or reading, reading, reading; but I will miss the people, the classroom experience and all the connections and encouragement I receive from attending Seminary).  I said to a fellow classmate this week that it is bitter-sweet that we will be graduating soon (or at least the finish line is in sight).  She replied, “I know.  I think so too, but I think its going to be more sweet than bitter.”  I thought, “She’s right!”  And not more than an hour later, I had a meeting with one of my professors; he closed our time in prayer and prayed for me saying, “…Lord, help Tammy know that she is entering into a new, exciting, beautiful chapter with You…”  Wow, I had not thought about it like that.  I had been so busy feeling sad about something very special in my life, soon to be, coming to an end that I had failed to take the time to stop and look forward and realize that a new chapter is coming into my life very soon, that will also be very special—just in a different way!

How about you? Are there any areas in your life that need a new perspective or reframing?  Maybe changing your point of view or changing up the way you think or say things?  Be encouraged, dear friend, you are growing and learning more than you realize, becoming more and more beautiful everyday!  Just be open to whatever God wants to do in your life and be willing to cooperate with Him, and He will do the rest—immeasurably more than you ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21)!