Looking in the Rear View Mirror

When you took Driver’s Education in high school, you were taught to be aware of all your surroundings so that you would be safe behind the wheel. As you looked ahead, you scanned the traffic and the roadsides. You glanced regularly at your rear view mirror, where you kept an eye on the vehicles and the highway behind you.

Any stationary or moving object that was close to your car loomed large and sharp and colorful, and sometimes caused you great concern. As you drove forward, however, anything that was a possible hazard receded into the distance, until it disappeared completely from view.

Many of our day-to-day experiences, especially the problems, are similar to those images in the mirror.

Today, right at this moment, the problems are so close.

We feel pressured and confined by them.

We find ourselves short of breath, or with a rapidly beating heart even as we think about them, regardless of the actual size or scope of the difficulties.

They may appear big and complex, sometimes perilous, or even insurmountable.

We fear the consequences if we crumple in defeat, or we become very angry, or offended, hurt or bitter as we struggle to come to some sort of resolution.

Yet, over time, the feelings we have today, much like the roadside images, often recede into the distance, and become nothing more than specks on the landscape of our past.

How can something that is so large and so very important, fade later into obscurity, stripped of its larger-than-life size and emotion?

How can it, at a point in the future, sometimes even morph into a humorous anecdote that you share, such as “Remember that time when I was in high school, and I called you in the middle of the night because I got the car stuck in the woods on an ATV trail?”

Time. Distance. Perspective. Prayer.

That’s all.

Sometimes, it’s just the passage of hours, days, weeks, or even years. Other times, it’s just a matter of putting some figurative or literal space between you and the issue. It may simply be a matter of taking a few steps and a few deep breaths, and finding a different point of view to gain that fresh perspective. And last, but certainly not least, there is the sweet relief of sharing your burden through prayer.

Is there a problem or issue in your life that would benefit from the healing balm of time, distance, perspective or prayer?