Perspective

This entry is about just how lucky we all are. While it has taken Dad a little time to compose, I'm sure you'll understand why as it goes along.

For the past month, a lot of my work responsibilities have centered around helping to organize an outreach trip to Joplin, Missouri. As I'm sure most of us know, this city of about 50,000 was shook by an EF5 tornado on the evening of May 22, killing 155 (the seventh deadliest tornado recorded in America). It ripped a path of destruction six miles long and a mile wide through the heart of the city.

In the past week, I took two trips to Joplin as our outreach trip culminated. Each time, I felt an incredible sense of numbness at what I encountered. I included a pair of photos I took both of St. John's hospital (a structure that lost it's top three stories and moved four inches off it's foundation), near where the tornado initially touched down, as well as the high school, which they are estimating will take two years to reconstruct.

In all honesty, they are fairly sedate compared to some of the sights I witnessed there... But I couldn't bring myself to take many other photos while I was there.

The good news is that, while Joplin has quite a long road to go before things return to "normal," those that call the area home are beyond resilient while still standing strong.

I bring this all up because my recent experiences there have given me a new found perspective about just how lucky we are.

I think about Gwendolyn and some of the things that the medical "professionals" told us about her (lack of a) future before she was even born. And today my little girl of almost 21-months, who we were warned probably wouldn't have much functionality mentally or physically from her waist down, can pull her self up from a seated position or crawl across the living room on her hands and knees when she wants to come "up" and get a hug from me.

I think about her two-minute older sister Braelyn and her quirky, charismatic nature (which was recently on display and captured in this video). There's something about Brae Bear that always makes me laugh and shake my head.

I think about their amazing mother who deals with my sometimes frustrating ways and always seems to remember that I'm well intentioned even if I'm often a tad bit misguided. More importantly than how she handles me is her impeccable ability to be a perfect match of guidance and nurturing as the girls continue to grow and mature.

I think about these things and I remember that no matter what the insurmountable issues are that I'm dealing with on a given day, I couldn't be more wrong. Really, I haven't had a single thing resembling a "bad day" in the Joplin sense of the term.

And of late, whenever I feel down or sad, I just close my eyes and imagine myself at the bottom of a Braelyn/Gwendolyn pileup... And you know what? Things aren't all that bad at all.

Perspective is a powerful tool.

Hug someone you love today... You just never know.