As a man thinks, so is he...(Proverbs 23:7 NIV)
Beautiful One, have you ever heard the saying, Perception is everything? Many of us have said it ourselves. But how often when we say things do we really take time to listen to ourselves? When was the last time you actually saw how you perceived things?
How we see ourselves, God, and others, will determine the level of victory we will attain in our daily lives. If we think less of ourselves than we should, we tend to attract others who see and treat us in that manner. If we don't think we deserve the best in life, there's a good chance it will elude us. And, if we get it anyway, we will somehow push it away, because we don't see that we are worthy of it.
Recently
the Lord used a habit of mine to teach me about my own perception. I am
an avid Star Bucks iced coffee drinker. I confess that I make a minimum
of three visits each day. I love the the drink and the whole experience
of going into my neighborhood coffee shop, talking with the baristas
and getting my iced cup of joe.
Believe it or not, it never fails that when they hand me my iced coffee and I go over to the sugar and cream counter, the half and half urn is always empty. I kid you not! Without fail, it has become a long standing joke that when they see me coming, the baristas have to run to replenish the empty urn.
One day while waiting in line to hand them the empty urn, I got a bit agitated. I was late getting off work, I was tired, and just wanted to get off my feet, drink my coffee, and rest. But because the urn was empty, and there were people ahead of me in line, I had to wait a little longer to get my cream. I was growing more disgruntled with every passing minute. Why must I go through this every day?
Then the Lord spoke up and told me that fresh cream every day was his gift to me. This may sound trivial, but it actually was a very profound and sweet thing the Lord was showing me.
Because I work in the food and beverage industry, I truly prefer fresh cream over cream that has been sitting out. He made a point to remind me that when I work in the morning I am always careful to make sure the guests at my tables have fresh cream. I think warm creamer is tacky and unprofessional.
Let's be honest, who wants old creamer that's been sitting out and previously used by someone else? Not me, and God knew that it makes my iced coffee even better. So what if I have to hand the empty urn over every single day and wait a few minutes longer; it's worth it.
The other side of the coin He was showing me is that, I can see the empty urn and be annoyed that there's no cream, and feel sorry that I'm always the one that gets the ball dropped on. Or, I can see that it benefits me to have it empty, so I can get a new one.
Perception changes everything. The way we see ourselves in any situation will change how we feel about it, and how we react to it. Whether it be a small matter of an empty urn, to dealing with the hard issues of life. The way we think determines how well we venture through it. May I even go as far as to say, the way we think will either propel us, or repel us in our situations?
The next time you are faced with a little annoyance, I challenge you to ask yourself, "How am I perceiving this?" If we can really examine how we view and approach the mundane tasks and habits we have, it will surely help us to be more aware of how we face the challenges of life...
Will we see the empty urn and complain; why me? Or, will we really have sight and say thank you, I get to have the fresh cream?
Beautiful One, just believe. If you can change your thinking, you can change your life!
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