We can perceive things wrongly and be deceived, so that we make assumptions on what something looks like. 

Shadows in the middle of the night cause objects to look different, bigger, scarier than they really are.

The weather here has been a little like that. For the most part, the weather has just not seemed to match the season … but we know that can happen anywhere, any time. 

When my daughter, Karlie, lived in Calgary she said one year they had either snow or hail in every month of that year. 

I remember one Canada Day in Kingston that was very uncharacteristic of that time of year. There were all kinds of family friendly things to do downtown by the water, so we decided to check them out. We had planned to stay downtown for the afternoon and enjoy the bands and fireworks at night.

When we parked our car the temperature was about 25 degrees celsius. We were all dressed in shorts and T-shirts. But some weird cold front came screaming into the region and in a matter of hours – maybe four hours or so – the temperature dropped by 20 degrees. 

By the time the bands were playing and we were finding a spot to watch the fireworks, it was about 2 degrees. 

We had come prepared for the temperature to drop a few degrees, but not that low. We needed winter parkas! On July 1st it’s supposed to be warm. We are not supposed to be huddled together trying to keep the kids from getting hypothermia.

Right now in Kingston we are in the middle of winter, but until this week it didn’t seem like it. 

On Sunday we had green grass showing on our lawn. Sure, we had tiny snow piles from where we shovelled our driveway, but it didn’t look like it was the middle of winter. 

If you took a quick look, you might think it was the tail end of the cold, that spring had already sprung. It looked like the big old, cold winter had pretty much been beaten. 

But then Monday morning we woke up and wondered if that green grass on our lawn had been an illusion. Falling snow covered everything and didn’t seem to be slowing down one bit. 

In the end we got 42 cm of snow … and me and one other neighbour are the only ones on the street who don’t have snowblowers. 

Now it looks like the middle of winter. There is no deception, no mismatch of seasons. We definitely have ourselves some winter.

I can’t say I like it any more than I did that July when the temperature dropped by 20 degrees. But at least when I look outside, I don’t get fooled into thinking that summer is coming any time soon.

Here’s the thing: Life can be a little deceptive. Your life can seem to be doing really well – solid relationships, financially secure, healthy and in great shape. You could assume that you have nothing to worry about. But if you have not cared for your spiritual side, you’re deceived. Though from your perspective, externally life looks good in every way, what is not seen may reveal a different reality when you face God. Ensure your spiritual side is right with God and then you will not be deceived.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need proper perspective on right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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