Which Side of the Bus Are You On?
Some of you are probably wondering where I’ve been. To be honest, I’ve been wondering myself. The past few months have been such a blur of activity that I’ve met myself coming and going but never had a moment to sit and chat with myself (or anyone else for that matter). Between ministry responsibilities, moving into our new rental home (hallelujah!), and having a visit from my mom (hooray!), we’ve whirled around and around so much we couldn’t tell up from down and right from left.
We are vacationing in Scotland this week to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. When we arrived a few days ago, we had no plans except for a place to stay for a few days near Inverness and another place to stay for a few days in the Isle of Skye. That’s it! Our goal was to do and see what we could and rest, relax, and recover. It’s been wonderful! Right now, it’s 7:43 in the morning. Jason is in bed, and I’m taking a few minutes to write this short devotion. After that, we plan to visit Loch Ness for a bit, and tonight, we have tickets to hear an orchestra at Inverness Cathedral. This is our first vacation in ten years, so we have really needed this time and plan to enjoy every moment.
As I scrolled through my Facebook feed this morning, I saw a picture that reminded me of a powerful truth. The cartoon-like image portrayed the inside of a bus. One man sat on the left side, staring into the dark mountain wall as the bus made its made up the hillside. His expression was sad, disgusted, frustrated, and downright gloomy. Across from him—on the right side of the bus—was a woman staring off at the bright, beautiful view below. The scenery caused her entire face to light up with joy. The caption read: “So much of our happiness depends on how we choose to look at the world.”
One bus. Two people. Two levels of happiness. One saw only the mountainside; the other saw the landscape below. One focused on the darkness while the other decided to view the light. It would be one thing if the bus were full, and there was nowhere else for the man to sit. But it wasn’t. There were plenty of empty seats on the right side of the bus, but he chose to sit on the left. He decided to stare at the mountain instead of the valley, at the darkness instead of the light.
Seeing that post reminded me to take stock each day of which side of the bus I’m sitting on. There are plenty of open seats on the bright side. I just have to choose to sit there and enjoy the view. What about you? Which side of the bus are you on?