Saturday, July 14, 2007

The Big Picture Obsured by Details

(Sunday July 15, 9:34 am - Note --- I have posted the answers to the 'quizz' at the bottom of post so if anyone has not yet tried it, you still can before you check the answers!)



Last week I was in the grocery store when the relative calm was shattered by the angry screams of a child.
As the screaming went on and on, people were starting to look around and women commenting, "If that was my child............"
The mother with the screaming 3 year old boy in the grocery cart passed by where I was looking at the produce.
She caught my eye and smilingly explained, "He didn't want to go shopping!"
She was not the least ruffled, other than being perhaps mildly embarrassed and she did nothing to curb the screams or angry words filling the ears of onlookers.
No-one was impressed!

We do not admire the tantrums of a three year old, and tend to blame the mother for not training her child. If the child had been 13 instead of 3, onlookers would have been even more horrified by the child's behavior!

I have noticed a changing attitude in Christians regarding their behaviour toward God.
Increasingly common are comments like, "Its good to vent your angry feelings toward God."
"Its OK to scream and yell at God, He can take it!"
Is it really OK to have a tantrum before God's throne?
Of course our Father understands our feelings, our pain, our frustrations, even our anger..... but does that give us licence to behave like a spoiled child?

I think the problem resulting in 'tantrums' is that the focus is on details rather than the big picture. As we mature, we are increasingly able to recognize a bigger and bigger life picture.
The immature reluctant shopper was only thinking of his feelings of the moment - not the bigger picture of his mom taking him to the grocery store because she needed to shop for the food he would soon be hungry for. Nor did he realize that she was taking him with her so he would be safe...leaving him alone in the vehicle or at home could be dangerous to his well-being!

When Christians 'scream' at God they too are focusing on the details of the moment, their pain or perceived inconvenience or rebellion against life taking a turn they did not expect or desire.
But God is a caring parent....He takes us along life paths, not to hurt us but to provide the things we need. Our problem is that we cannot see what He sees -- we cannot see the big picture which includes not only the few years of this earthly life but the glorious purposes of all eternity!!!!

My husband got some neat new lenses for his new camera and so I got him to snap some closeups of very common things in our house.
I printed the photos here -- see how easy it is to guess what each of these photos are a magnified part of.
If you want to play, put your guesses in your 'comment'!
I will add the correct answers below each picture tomorrow.

I'm sure you can guess most of them, but the point I wanted to demonstrate is that if we find it hard to see the 'whole' picture when we see only a part of even very common objects, how much less are we able to see the total picture that God sees!?!!?
Rather than act like three-year-olds, wouldn't it be much more pleasing to our Father if we come to him with humility and respect and trust in His infinite wisdom, knowing His love for us is much greater than anything the sin and evil of this life can throw at us??




1.___________________________


2.____________________________


3.__________________________


4._________________________


5.__________________________



6.________________________



7.___________________________



8.__________________________

9.__________________________ ( the photo at the top of blog)

The answers are 1. palm of hand 2. toonie 3. end of banana 4. rice 5. button 6. spool of thread
7.pastry 8.leaf 9. fork

Thank-you, Lovella, JAJ, and Carolanne for having a bit of fun with the photos. You almost got them all, Lovella!! Good job!
I really thought 3 (banana) was so easy I almost didn't include it but none of you got it!! I didn't realize, Lovella and Carolanne that you had such 'taste' in jewelry!!! (giggle)
Number 6, the spool of thread was a give away to anyone who sewed (Lovella) since Gutterman is a well-known name of a thread, but it would have been almost impossible for someone who didn't sew! (sorry, jaj!!) The toonie was obvious to a Canadian but not to someone outside of Canada.

Isn't it that way in the spiritual realm also? So often we miss the obvious!! Also when we have experienced the loss of a spouse or a deep depression or financial ruin we are much more able to recognize the big picture , not only in our own life by the wisdom gained through our experiences but also in someone else's life and are able to offer our help!! (II Cor. 1:4)

Have a blessed Sunday, my friends and family!!


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

1- Chair cushion
2- Tunie
3- Frogs in nest
4- jell caps or rice
5- light fixture
6- jello or yogart container
7- fish eggs
8- Bed spread
9- comb or rake
jaj

Lovella ♥ said...

1. palm of hand
2. toonie
3. piece of jewelrey
4. a bunch of suppositories .. ;)
5. button
6. thread spool
7. pastry
8. leaf
9. fork

Now can you post about coveting your cousins lense?

my word verification phonetically said . .. give the lense to someone you love . ..

Oh boy, now, I'm really bad, I'm fibbing and jealous.

Julie said...

You are missing the 'big' picture, Lovella!! (giggle)
Vic would say, "When I was your age, I still had twenty years to wait before I got the camera and lenses of my dreams!!" LOL

(Your quick confession saved you from being 'really bad'!! smile)

Carolanne said...

Great post, Julie. (as per usual) and I don't think I'll do the quiz - y'all are so different over there and I have no idea what toonies/tunie are. Still, I look forward to reading the truth. :)

I did think same as Lovella for #1, 3 etc. :)

Anonymous said...

If you look carefully at the top of the banana just below the blue spot you can clearly see the head of a frog. Bulging eyes and all. :-)
jaj

Julie said...

I don't know where you buy your bananas,jaj, but I won't argue if yours have frogs in them!!!! smile

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Here's what I guessed before checking the answers:
1. fingers
2. coin
3. banana end
4. rice
5. button?
6. ??
7. pumpkin pie
8. avocado
9. fork tongs

What's a toonie??
Had to really look hard at #3 before I recognized a banana butt (pardon my French)! Was none too sure about 5, had no idea about 6 (I have been known to sew, but it's been a long time).

Thanks for the fun quiz, and also for the good lesson.

I must look for one of those lenses for my camera!

Lovella ♥ said...

It funny how that bananna looks so much like a bananna now.

Thoughts on Life and Millinery. said...

Well I missed number 3, I thought it was a blueberry too, and six I had no idea. Number two I thought was a coin, is a tunie/toonie a coin? Lovella's guess on number 4 makes me wonder what her life is like?

Bernie and I had a nice talk about your post; we both thought your comments about big pictures and ranting at God was excellent. The post and the pictures would be so good to use to teach kids patience and trust.

And thanks to Sara for giving us the correct name for the end of a banana. I suppose rice could be used as Lovella viewed it on bananas if needed.

Demara said...

1.palm of hand
2.toonie
3.fruit
4.insect eggs
5.plate with a drop of water on it
6.bottom of a book in a woven basket
7.apple pie or pastry
8.baking flour
9.fork

Demara said...

I wrote that list down on paper and then read the answers afterward. I got 5 right! Woohoo...the banana one bugged me, b/c well at first I knew exactly what it was and then the longer I stared at it I forgot what my first thought was, and at the end all I could remember was that it was a fruit. So many other ideas came to mind the longer I stared at it mostly fruit, but I did have a quick thought of it being a burnt marshmallow with a blue flame still on it, but then I thought what could that green stuff be? Then I thought it has to be fruit, but then I thought what is that blue stuff on the black? Is that mold? So ya, that one bugged me.

It was a very fun post Julie, Thanks!

Carolanne said...

Rice? Hmmm I was actually thinking some kind of beads/jewels.

It was interesting to read the answers. :)

Anonymous said...

1-skin/hand
2-toonie
3-
4-suppositories
5-thread
6-
7-
8-avacado
9-fork