Different Perspectives

When Claire McGarry's kids each remember an event differently, it reminds her of how important multiple perspectives are to our faith.

The running joke in my house is that my kids and husband would make terrible witnesses at a crime. Their observation skills are next to nil. They each operate in their own world, barely noticing what's happening around them.

If and when something big does catch their attention, each one has a different take on it. Not only do they remember different aspects, but they fill in the blanks with fabricated recollections—not in a malicious way, just in a clueless way. I'd never want to be the judge who has to decide which one of them saw the crime as it really happened.

For about forty years he put up with them in the desert. (Acts 13:18)

It's nice to be reminded that God had a completely different take than the Israelites did when they were wandering in the desert for forty years.

Acts 13:18 says God endured their conduct in the wilderness. I've always known that the Israelites complained in the desert, and I could relate to them. It had to be really hard to wander for so long, hungry and thirsty, when you thought you were headed right into the "promised land."

But it's important to be reminded of what it was like from God's perspective. He'd just inflicted ten plagues to make Pharaoh let them go, parted the Red Sea so they had an escape route, and rained down manna and quail every day for them to eat, and STILL they complained. If I ever went to those lengths for my kids and they grumbled about it, I'd ground them for a month (or maybe 40!).

Click to tweet:
No matter the circumstances or who is at fault, God always rains down good, despite our grumbling. #catholicmom

Eyewitnesses are critical to any trial. They help the judge decide who is at fault.

Multiple perspectives are invaluable to our faith. They show us that no matter the circumstances, and who is at fault, our ultimate Judge always abides with us, raining down good, despite our grumbling.

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