A Change of Perspective

I’m at my parents’ house for the weekend. My eleven-year-old brother Isaiah and I are on the back porch. Isaiah is trying out an old spyglass I picked up in an antique shop yesterday. I’m on my phone checking the site where bar exam results will be posted.

No results yet. I refresh the screen.

Still no results. I refresh the screen.

“This thing is broken,” Isaiah says. “I can’t see anything.” His hands clutch the spyglass. Its tripod sits on the deck railing. Isaiah has adjusted the spyglass so it’s aimed at an oak leaf a few inches down the railing.

“You have to look farther,” I say. “You’re too close to that leaf.”

I return to my phone, refreshing it again. I know it’s highly unlikely that results would be posted on a weekend. But I’m afraid. I spent three months studying for this test. I spent three years in law school before that. I need to know that I passed.

“Still broken,” Isaiah says.

I look up from my phone. The oak leaf is now about a yard farther down the railing. Isaiah is peering into the spyglass with one eye. The other is squinted shut, the eyebrow above wrinkled with concern.

“You’re still way too close.” I set my phone down, then I turn the spyglass away from the railing and toward the tree line. I look through the spyglass and twist it so it telescopes out. A tree comes into focus. I scan around until I find a bird’s nest, then I carefully let go of the spyglass.

“Look through it now,” I say.

Isaiah eases his face toward the lens. Then he smiles. “This is cool,” he says. “It’s so much better than just looking at that blurry leaf.”

He’s right. And even though I want to pick up my phone and check it again, I restrain myself.

I don’t want to be so distracted by my fears that I miss the good things God has given me. I could check for bar results another dozen times, but the test results will post whether or not I constantly refresh my screen. And my time with Isaiah is limited.

So instead of dwelling on my fear, I spend the morning with Isaiah. We use the spyglass to spot birds and plants and our yellow lab roaming the yard. I’ll check for test results later this afternoon.

But for now, I'm focused on the bigger picture.