It's All About Perspective

I have two planters in the front of our house. They were planted at the same time with the same amount of plants. They were cared for exactly the same way--which is code for not at all... One has flourished, and one well, it has not. I have both been amused and confused by it. 

A couple of days ago I was pulling out of the driveway. I glanced over and laughed out loud (yes I was alone in the car) as this thought went through my head. "The one on the left is thriving. Of course it is." And yes, I was thinking about politics in all its forms with all its assumptions. You know more liberal, more inclusive, more accepting--I told y'all the assumptions. Stick with me.

The next morning I opened the front door to refill the cooler for delivery people and I stopped abruptly. Now the flourishing planter was on the right. "It's all about perspective," I thought.

And I can't stop thinking about it. I'm thinking about all the people I love dearly--people on the "right" and people on the "left." I'm thinking about how they all impact my life and help me to be the person I am. I'm thinking about our differences which challenge me and encourage me to look at life from different perspectives, and yes, even sometimes change my mind.

But mostly I'm thinking about how each and every one of us is a beloved child of God, created in God's image and worthy of dignity and respect. I am reminded that God isn't left or right; God is for everyone. I'm reminded that I am called to look at the world through God's eyes, and that requires many perspectives. I am reminded that I am called to join God to create a world where we all flourish. And all this because one planter flourished and one did not!

(I'm still curious about why...the planters that is!)