3 Reasons to Create Space to See the Big Picture in Your Life
It’s a quiet Wednesday evening, and I return home with a truckload of groceries to find an empty house. After stowing the food in the cupboards, I slip to the deck and discover my family playing in the backyard. They are laughing, wrestling, and chasing the beagles across the wilted wildflower fields. Standing on the deck unnoticed feels like a rare invitation to step back and truly see the big picture of my life from afar.
I’m sure other moms can relate: Somehow, the kids are surprisingly cuter when you watch them from afar, removed from disciplinarian responsibilities, and momentarily free from the demands of meeting everyone’s varied needs.
This moment on the deck feels like an incitement to see the big picture of my life from outside the canvas of our everyday moments.
When You Make Space to See the Big Picture
As I stand on the deck, I notice the unique characteristics of each child. They are beautiful, and they are mine, and how is this my actual life?
Maybe I need this more often: Moments to step back and see the big picture of my actual life.
Maybe I need this more often: Moments to step back and see the big picture of my actual life. #gratitude #parenting #perspective Click To TweetWhen I step back to see the big picture, I can’t help but marvel at where I’ve been and how in the world God brought me up from where I was at 22 to where I am now as we inch closer to 40 with each passing day.
Stepping back to see the big picture shapes my soul in ways I need to be shaped. Perhaps you need this, too. Let’s look at three shifts that take place when we step back to see the bigger picture of our lives:
We feel inspired to give thanks.
Stepping back gives us space to notice God’s gifts.
Often, while we are living in the middle of our hurried moments, we overlook these blessings.
Step back to look at your life and notice God’s fingerprints. Your life probably isn’t perfect. However, there is beauty threaded through it. Look for the beauty.
We find space to assess our priorities.
When I step away from my everyday moments long enough to breathe, rest, and give my soul space to stretch, I create space to look at the way I’m doing life.
I find space to assess whether I’m living out the priorities I claim to hold.
If not there is space to rearrange my life in a way that honors those priorities. I need moments to step back and take a hard look at the bigger picture, to ascertain whether I’m living the life I want to live.
We find perspective.
When I see my life from afar, I realize just how fast the years really do fly past.
I am led to slow down, to lay aside the hindrances that tend to entangle me. I see what really does matter for the sake of eternity, and I find space to identify where I’ve been chasing the wrong pursuits.
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Caleb spots me first from my perch on the deck. “Mommy’s home!” he shouts, and in no time, his six-year-old hand is pulling me to the yard. I’d been thinking of going inside to clean up dinner dishes, but this is better. This is by far better.
Sometimes, these moments for stepping back from my life to see the bigger picture happen naturally, like my moment on the deck. But sometimes we all need to carve out moments to step back, take a look at our days, and assess the direction.
I make it a habit to practice this sort of stepping back every three months, and I’ve been doing this since my junior year of high school.
If it’s been a while since you took the time to pull back from your life for even ten short minutes to assess where you’ve been recently, where you are right now, and where you’re headed in the next season, take the time to do so today. 
A Free Devotional to Help You Step Back and See the Big Picture:
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