I had a plethora of topics to choose from for this week’s blog. I considered writing a piece on Ash Wednesday, Mardi Gras, Lent, or even Valentine’s Day. However, (sorry to disappoint) I had something happen to me recently that I felt many could relate to, and I wanted to share it with you instead. It began with an early morning yoga class…
- 5:30AM: Left house to go to yoga class
- 5:31AM: Got in a cab that was off duty and switched to a different cab
- 6:00AM: Arrived at yoga and discovered wallet was missing
- 6:01AM: Franticly searched cab
- 6:03AM: Burst into tears and realized wallet was left in the first off-duty cab
I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences losing important items, such as wallets or cell phones. Some of us have even lost luggage, passports, keys – you name it. For something so ordinary though, this experience felt so impactful and consuming. It was early morning, I was rushed and stressed, and in short, I panicked and felt completely lost.
It sometimes takes moments like this one to help us sort out our day-to-day priorities. My meltdown over a lost credit card and license, for example, seemed irrational to me once I saw the situation more clearly. It then made me think am I overemphasizing the small things in my life? The answer is most certainly always YES.
How many times do we tell ourselves to put things into perspective, only to forget it a second later? There are so many times looking back that something seemed like the end of the world, and yet, nothing came of it. Still, we don’t seem to learn from these experiences, and continue to be filled with anxiety and stress over things that are replaceable. My co-worker told me she tries to fix this cycle by finding lessons in each of her “mini breakdown” moments, and looks at them as opportunities to grow and to be thankful for the outcomes. When unfortunate things happen to her, she’s started to think to herself “It’s just life happening.”
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 tells us, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
We may spend the rest of our lives on earth reminding ourselves not to sweat the small stuff, but this verse can help us maintain perspective in those times when we forget. If you find yourself in a “wallet” moment in the next few weeks, take a deep breath, and look ahead – replaceable things are temporary, the important things can never be lost.
