Through the Kitchen Window

Lately I've been thinking about perspective. How different things can seem when you look at them from a different angle. My kitchen window is a case in point.

When I look through my kitchen window (it seems like I spend a lot of time here!) I look past my pretty teapot, straight at the beautiful tree we planted several years ago. It has grown quite large, with a beautiful green canopy that helps shade our house in the summer. In the fall, the tree is a blaze of red and in the winter, it is a stark silhouette.

Right now, I also have clematis and jasmine vines climbing up the back wall. When the jasmine are in bloom, the smell is intoxicating and I leave the window wide open to capture the scent.



It seems like I have the perfect vantage point. However, if I lean forward slightly and glance to the left, I am faced with a completely different picture. Stacked against the wall is the bed I keep meaning to paint. The lawn is brown and weed-filled, and the flower beds are empty. All of these things are there to remind me of what I haven't done and the pain of the past few years that have kept me from maintaining my home the way I would like to.



There are so many days I allow myself to get bogged down by the pain and failures of my life that I miss the beauty that is right in front of me - my children's smiles, the love of my husband, coffee with a friend, and even the view from my kitchen window.

I am learning (slowly) what the Apostle Paul found-

"I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am." Philippians 4:12-13 The Message,