A Lesson on Perspective

Today was decorate-the-gingerbread-houses-at-school-day. I volunteered to help with this because my girl was just a bit nervous about knowing which ingredients she could/could not have and after I went to the classroom and the mess of icing and candy pieces began to escalate, I was so glad I had gone. My girl was so excited to be elbow deep in bright colored candies and I was glad I could be there to monitor the situation. Thankfully, the decorating went off without a hitch and all the kiddos had a blast. I enjoyed being there with those kids who are all so very different from each other, but wonderful and special in their own ways. (Even though, I might have been dreading the mess!!) When I picked up my girls from school this afternoon, C had her gingerbread house in tow and she was greatly looking forward to getting home and eating some of that house. It seemed she had forgotten all about our little discussion about how it was not something she could eat because of the icing that contains egg whites. So, when I gently reminded her of that, there was a major emotional breakdown. This is really the first time she's ever gotten so upset (outwardly) about her allergies. Mega tears were flowing in the backseat from the sheer disappointment of not being able to eat such a beautiful and visually appealing treat that she worked so hard on. I let her vent her frustration for a second and then asked her, "Does God make mistakes?" Of course, her answer was NO. And then I asked her, "Did he make a mistake by allowing you to have food allergies?" Her answer, at first, was yes and then we talked about how God cannot make a mistake - never has and never will. He allows everything in our lives for a reason....even things we don't think are right for us. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that ALL THINGS work together for good to them that love God...according to His purpose." Even a 6 year old can begin to understand that God knows what's best for us and always has our best interest at heart. And while the tears were pouring and the sobbing was in full force, I sat there in the driver's seat praying she will one day outgrow these allergies, but also wondering what else I could say to help her put this in perspective. Then, I pulled off my exit and sat at a red light where homeless people are almost always standing begging for money or food and I could see just enough under the bridge to see others taking shelter there. I pointed them out to my children and showed them what they had never noticed before. There are real people all around us who have no food or home. When put in perspective, food allergies seem so much less of a burden. The fact is, the focus doesn't need to be on what we can't have, but what we already have that, quite frankly, we don't deserve. God has blessed us exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask for or imagine {Eph 3:20} and THAT is what we can be thankful for.