I hung some pictures in my office last week. I did not have a tape measure and a level to help me -- so I just had to “eyeball” it. During my attempts to get them lined up, I recalled a time when my husband Joe and I were on one of our many mission trips with groups from Briarcliff UMC to the Appalachian region. Each year we had teams participate in the Appalachia Service Project. This particular time we were installing siding on a home. In general the families we served while making their homes warmer, safer, and drier were very friendly and also very appreciative of what we were doing for them. The lady who owned this home, however was more picky than most about how things were done. At one point she came out and told one of our youth that the siding was crooked. Youth are not always adept at tactfulness! He placed his level on the board and replied, “Ma’am, this siding is perfectly level, it’s the house that is crooked!”
The lesson I’m taking away from that is that things are not always as they appear. Things that we may think are problematic may not be so bad after all. It just might be a matter of perspective. That old house was not level. When we installed the siding, we made it level with the horizon or whatever it is that those little bubbles align themselves with. In any event it is the orientation that God established. In life, we will have fewer problems when we align our thoughts and actions with God’s desires for us instead of the pull of the world. God’s presence in our lives gives us hope that we can overcome whatever problem we may face. If your life is crooked right now, try orientating it to God. You will find that things may not be as bad as they seem.
