Double the Joy no. 55: Perspective

June 19th, 2024

Jun 20, 2024

Yesterday morning, with a mouth full of gauze, I told my dentist that it “could be much worse”. He knew that I had the book Endurance (Alfred Lansing’s classic history of the doomed voyage to Antarctica aboard the Endurance, captained by Ernest Shackleton) on hand and it is a book that he has read. I had just read about a surgery, under less than ideal conditions, to address gangrene in one crew member’s foot, as I waited for a moment.

Aside: I’ve never been an American Express cardholder, so I can’t leave home with or without it, but I do try to not leave home without a book.

So, surely I could endure the rest of a root canal procedure in an air conditioned office with sufficient amounts of numbing agent. And, endure, I did! I still have all my toes too. Unlike Perce Blackboro.

Perspective is helpful like that. And it can come from many places. I had also had the benefit of realizing that it was a blessing that I am on Sabbatical right now, otherwise I would have been dealing with my dental issues while trying to write a sermon or having been out of town attending our denomination’s General Assembly, which took place last week.

Sometimes, perspective comes easy and sometimes from unexpected places. I am not reading Endurance, necessarily, for such. It is a gift to be able to see our sorrows through a new lens. Or to recognize our difficulties are not necessarily all that we may feel.

But.

There is a danger here.

Perspective is not about denigrating our current experiences in the light of others experiences (or past one’s). We must be careful to speak the truth about our trials in the moment or fail to acknowledge real pain or heartache, even if I am thankful that I am not stranded on Elephant Island. Speaking of perspective, the Satellite view on Google Maps for better understanding such things.

Secondly, it is possible that what you are experiencing falls under the category of “worst possible scenario” or something along those lines. That does not mean that we cannot be helped by looking for joys in the midst of such sorrow or acknowledging real blessings we receive, but our perspective will rightly be through the lens of our present trial. If you are tempted to say something that begins with “at least”, please reconsider either your words or your relationship. Otherwise, I might say to you, “at least you had a friend.”

Thirdly, perspective is personal and best discovered personally. Had my Dentist, who I really like and appreciate, suggested that “it could be worse", I might have resented the notion or been frustrated internally at the attempt to diminish my pain. But I opened the door and we were able to share that idea with a bit of a laugh and talk about my being on Sabbatical. Forcing perspective on someone is a recipe for bitterness and animosity, perhaps only internally. And if someone doesn’t get there on their own, it is not necessarily your job to help them get there. But reflecting back someone’s discovered perspective or seeing things with fresh eyes is a doorway to shared joy and hope.

I am thankful for modern dentistry, though I don’t recommend needing a root canal. Both can be true.

Reading Joy

It’s been quite awhile since I shared what I have been reading (back at the beginning of February), so a lot of books have been consumed in the interim. Here’s my list:

I highly recommend David Gibson’s book on Psalm 23 and John Mark Comer’s book.

Fiction recommendation: Graham Moore’s book, if you like deeply rooted historical fiction that helps you understand the macro-economic aspect of World War II and what followed shortly thereafter.

Feel free to ask me about any of the above.

On the Nightstand:

The aforementioned Endurance, which I should finish in the next day or two.

The Shadows of Men by Abir Mukherjee — this fifth in the Wyndham & Banerjee mystery series set in 1920s India.

J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life by Paul Miller

Listening Joy

Creating Joy

My Sabbatical mosaic project #1, which became a little bit of a group project.

This was a gift for a little girl in our congregation who is fighting cancer. I feel strongly about her and these circumstances for many, many reasons. Please pray for Talia (I have blurred out the rest of her name). Thank you. Her last name starts with a J, so the letter combines first & last name. And her favorite color is orange. The picture causes the tile to show up a little darker than is actually the case - those are all blue colors for the other tile.

Lydia helped at a crucial point, as I had never done the glass inset before and was getting very flustered (the whole imagination v. reality, thing). And Talia's Sunday school teacher did the handwriting part.