by Anusha Atukorala
Last year, my husband bought a new car. We’d spent a few months visiting numerous showrooms – sitting inside posh vehicles and whizzing around on numerous test drives, until Shan was sure what car would suit his needs best. One day we planned to pick up my niece after a conference she’d attended in Adelaide, to bring her home for a few days.
We decided to visit one showroom, then drive down to another located past the city for a five minute peek, before picking up my niece at her city hotel. At first, all went according to plan. We spent a happy hour at the first showroom, with a competent and likeable car salesman who was very persuasive. However … my beloved was wise.
He thanked the salesman, said he’d get back to him and we drove off to the second one. That’s when the script changed. The five minutes we were to spend there expanded to 10 minutes, And then 20 … 30 … until, oh dear, it stretched to one full hour! I kept checking my watch – anxious we’d get late to get to my niece. But the salesman and his manager were lions about to pounce on their prey.
It was actually a win win situation. Shan bought the car of his dreams at
an excellent price while the car team got their sale. The former salesman had lost
out because he did not strike while the iron was hot. Perhaps it was all about perspective?
The manager who succeeded, viewed the sale from the customer’s perspective -
not from his. He gave us exactly what we asked for! He was good at his job!
Perspective Matters! As writers who string words together, what should
our perspective be? Is it simply to share the burning issues on our hearts or
is to meet our readers where they
are? I confess that I don’t always check out my readers’ perspective, since I’m
often driven by my own experiences, through which I seek to encourage others. Maybe I
need to consider the readers needs more than I do now.
The truth is that I am a picky reader, so other readers could be a lot
like me. I return from a trip to the library, lugging 20 or 30 books home. Yes,
books tempt me! And because I have so many waiting in my To Be Read pile, I don’t always persevere with a story I don’t enjoy
in the first 20 or 30 pages. I know I can pick up a more pleasurable read in
the blink of an eye. The books I get stuck into, usually have a rating of at
least 7/10 (by me) in order for me to keep reading. Fussy? I’m afraid so! It tells
me then that others readers too, might be like me, and so … their perspective
matters.
Today I’d like to focus on another, more important perspective. God’s! Recently,
as I studied 2 Corinthians chapter 4, I heard God’s whispers. The gems He showered
me with, encouraged me no end, like a cold drink on a warm, summer’s day. I needed
a fresh perspective about life in the kingdom and also needed to put on God’s wise
discerning spectacles, in place of my clouded, earth-bound ones.
The Seven R’s of the JESUS WAY through Trials:
(2 Corinthians 4)
1.
Realise
the truth about trials.
a.
They are Temporary
– a miniscule blip in time compared to eternity
b.
They are also Tiny – compared to the joys that await us
2.
Refuse
to give into Satan’s ploys
3.
Remember
all God has done for me in the past
4.
Re-focus
my eyes on God’s kingdom and His greatness
5.
Raise
my eyes to the things unseen
6.
Rejoice
in my riches in Christ
7.
Rest
on God’s unfailing promises
So I fix our eyes not on what is
seen, but on what is unseen,
since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor 4:18
When you and I reach heaven, we just might realise that we spent too much time on stuff that did not matter and too little time on things that did. We might discover that the value system of heaven and its perspective is as different to ours here on earth as the wild, untamed ocean is to a grubby, small mud puddle!
So today, I pause and ask myself about my own viewpoint!
1 In my writing: Do I seek heaven’s perspective or one based just on the here and now? Will my writing count for eternity?
2 In my life as a believer: Is it based on what I see around me or on the things unseen in the heavenly realms? Am I living for eternity or living for the here and now?
Perspective matters! So in Perspective Matters, let’s have eyes that are able to see the things that count and will continue to count in eternity! Let’s have hearts that understand what God’s heart dwells on, what God requires of us and what God calls us to do. Dear beautiful friend, let’s hitch up our skirts and roll up our trousers and dance through life, the Jesus way. Let our Lives, our Writing Lives, and our Relationships be viewed through God’s lenses.
The one perspective that really matters is God’s, isn’t it?
Oh may we
see life through His eyes so we can love, write and live as God does!
“But one thing I do: Forgetting
what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal
to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil
3:13-14
Anusha’s been
on many interesting detours in life, as a lab technician, a computer
programmer, a full time Mum, a full time volunteer, a charity director, a full
time job chaser, until one golden day (or was it a dark moonless night?) God
tapped her on her shoulder and called her to write for Him. She has never
recovered from the joy it brought her. She loves to see others enjoying life
with Jesus and does her mite to hurry the process in her world through her
writing and through her life. The goodness of God is her theme song through
each season, as she dances in the rain with Jesus.
Her first book Enjoying the Journey contains 75 little God stories that will bring you closer to your Creator. Her 2nd book Dancing in the Rain brings you hope and comfort for life’s soggy seasons. Her 3rd book, Sharing the Journey is a sequel to Enjoying the Journey. More books are on the pipeline as she researches them through life's challenges and blessings.
Do drop in on her two websites to say G’day!
She’d love to connect with you.
