Can you see the cigarette butt in the picture?
(above photo from pictureoutdoors.com)
This is a picture of Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park. I stood on the shore of this amazing vista in 2005 during a backpacking trip and learned a lesson in perspective. Here's an excerpt from my journal: “We walked down to lake McDonald to a very beautiful view of the lake and mountains. There were a few cigarette butts on the rocky beach, and as I started to get upset about it, I realized that I was letting a very small detail spoil all the beauty around me...”
Here's a picture of me in the mountains above the lake the next day:
Today, I had to follow through on some promised consequences with one of the kids due to some recent results from school. When a child is so respectful and mature, and such an amazing creation of God, it seems like it'd be hard to get distracted by one small lapse in scholastic performance, but it's what happens sometimes. I know that discipline is an act of love and necessary for continued growth and maturity, but why does it have to be so hard?!?
My journal from that time in Glacier continues: “...God created [my Wife], and [my Kids] with even more love and care than this mountain. Do I see the vast beauty in them, or do I let small details ruin everything?”
I know that God loves me even though I screw up, and I try really hard to express to my family how much I love each of them unconditionally too. I hope they get it.
