Changing Your Perspective

As I begin typing, I can feel that the skin of my fingers is still wrinkled from the hot dishwater. Yes, I have dishpan hands. From washing dishes. All by myself!

As I began to wash them, I took in the view that I so seldom see. Standing in front of our stainless steel, double sink, a pile of dishes to my left, and an empty dish rack to my right, I gazed out the kitchen window at the falling rain. As if on cue, a black-chinned hummingbird alighted on the feeder, pausing long enough to allow me to examine it's iridescent colors. What a privilege to be standing at that place, at that moment.

As my hands worked with the bubbles to separate the dished from the yuck, I realized I was standing on a desk. No, not literally. I remembered the movie The Dead Poet's Society where professor John Keating takes his students through an exercise of standing on a desk to gain a new perspective on life. At that moment in time, to the best of my ability, I was seeing the world from my wife's perspective. For the first time in a long time, I was seeing what she sees on a daily basis.

I decided that I was going to make the best of this opportunity. As I worked, I decided to take in every sound, every smell, every sense of what she considers normal.

I could hear the children NOT doing their schoolwork. I dried my hands repeatedly to answer the phone and computer chats, and attend to the children's needs. And I perspired! The heat from the water caused me to soak my shirt every bit as much as I did yesterday while doing the "manly" task of rotating the tires on my car.

I also enjoyed the blessing of looking out on God's creation and hearing Him speak to me through it. I had time (probably twice as much as my wife usually does) to meditate and reflect on and sort through the thoughts of my heart.

And, perhaps the best blessing of all, my appreciation and love for my wife grew. What I was able to accomplish once (find gratification in doing a menial task out of love for another), she does on a daily basis, not only in the dishes, but in all the duties of making our home a home.

So much of our lives become routine, and when we fall into the rut of routine, our lives become ordinary. To prevent this, we must choose to alter our routine. To live extraordinary lives, we must purposely change our position in order to see things in a different light. What is revealed in doing so may startle us.

You may be wondering: Where was my wife while I was doing her job (I'll probably catch grief for that!)? She was visiting and blessing our daughter who had requested her company. And what did she do while she was there? She washed her dishes...while standing on a desk.

I also decided to watch The Dead Poet's Society again. What a wonderful film, with such a powerful message. Each of us has a voice, and we must find it before it is too late. But that's for another post.