Three steps to Perspective

While driving one day, I took a moment to really notice my surroundings and the scenery around me. The sky was blue with scattered clouds, the sun making its way through the thick forest lining the road, the sign of winter snow fading away into spring. As I passed a gap in the woods where it burst forth into hills and plains a small object caught my eye. After a second glance I was able to make out a partially crumbled set of three very old porch steps made of either concrete or stone. They, however long ago they were used, were still standing as tall and strong as they could as if leading to a now non-existing porch or doorway. There was no house, foundation, chimney remains, or fence in sight, however those three steps continued to stand as if they were still fulfilling their duty, albeit crumbling with age. I couldn’t get them out of my mind as I continued on down the road. My mind began to wander as I considered the possible beginning of those meager steps. It must have been a very long time ago as the trees in and around them were quite large and thick, along with the massive amount of brush surrounding the area. Many years ago, before my time, there’s a good chance this was a woman’s dream home, a hardworking man’s proud creation to support his new wife and upcoming family, a little girl’s comfort and safe haven, a young man’s inspiration to make something of himself, a humble elderly couple’s cozy home full of laughing grandchildren during the holidays, a refuge for those in need, and the list goes on. So many possibilities, so many memories. Oh, if those crumbled yet determined stairs could speak of the history of the house that once stood. Everything has a story to tell. There is history everywhere. Someone’s whole life and hard work remains in the form of three steps still standing tall after all these years. It made me take a step back and think of all the effort and emotion I put in to the most trivial things. Does it really mean that much? Is it really worth the time spent stressing and agonizing over? Will it really matter ten or even two years from now? Those three steps gave me a new perspective and outlook on life.

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”  James 4:14 KJV

 “Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.” Psalms 144:4 KJV

Although three meager steps are all that remains of what was once someone’s whole world, we can still learn something without ever needing to know the history. Life is short, Time is precious, Love is strong, Faith is eternal, and what you do with those precious gifts God has so richly blessed you with is something only you can decide. What are you leaving behind?  What are you doing with your life? How are you spending your time? For one day it will be like those three small steps. Will you be crumbled and forgotten alone in the woods along a highway or will you be a monument that will forever be etched in the lives of those you’ve touched? It’s amazing how someone’s entire life, hard work, laughter, love, blood, sweat, and tears who had a place in history, known or unknown, can all come down to three steps still standing alone in the woods. Although I will never know the lives, stories, or history of the house that once stood, I will always remember those three steps that helped give me perspective in the midst of a busy world.