Perspective: (n) a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view 

Upon checking into our hotel room, my daughter’s perspective shone brightly when she exclaimed, “Hey, we could live here! It’s nice and decent sized, has good Wi-Fi and air conditioning.” After looking around, I somewhat agreed and we realized the comedy of it. We had been moving around so much and for so long that now a hotel room looked appealing as a place to settle down. From that point on, we compared locations along our transition and pointed out the positive points of each place. When we finally did reach the final destination and moved in, actually unpacked our suitcases and even hung up some things on the wall kind of moving in, we highlighted the positives. “We have doors!” “There’s 2 actual bedrooms!” “We have 2 sinks in the bathroom!” and other details even despite the size and little inconveniences of the place. Perspective. 

In the midst of transition, often times, a little perspective goes a long way. In the middle of all the changes, the muck and mire of details, the inconveniences, and feeling of instability in it all, there can still be glimpses of joy, hope, fun, and if anything, laughter. Although it can be hard to see at the time, there is good in it. It just takes a bit longer to be noticed. It takes a change in perspective. 

The perspective that Jesus had for those that followed Him was honest and true. He knew what was to come and that it would be difficult. He actually said, “in me you will have peace. In this world you will have many troubles.” Times of transition always feel like a full load of troubles. There is much to look forward to but sometimes it is overwhelming and we lose sight. Look at what He said again. His initial statement, “in me you will have peace.” He makes it a point to emphasize that we will have peace in Him, then He mentions we will have troubles. He gives the solution and perspective before He gives the warning of what lay ahead. Then He backs it up even more with the last part of the Scripture, “But take heart, I have overcome the world.” What amazing perspective we can have if we looked at each step of transition and each trial with this truth in our hearts! If we change our perspective to reflect His, the difficulties of transition seem small in comparison and we can begin to be thankful for the little things like doors and the fact that we can finally unpack and put the suitcases away.