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The Joy of Big-Picture Living

Guideposts blogger and military mom Edie Melson shares a lesson she learned about the distraction of details, of missing the blessings of the big picture.

At family gatherings, don't get bogged down in details and miss the blessings of the bigger picture.
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

“And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.’” (Luke 10:41, NKJV)

I got caught in a vicious trap while our son was in the military. I became obsessed with perfection. No, it wasn’t that I wanted to be perfect. I wanted to make sure that every moment spent with our son when he came home was perfect.

For example, it wasn’t enough just to cook him dinner when he was visiting. I had to research his favorite foods, come up with the perfect recipes, the perfect setting, the right people. No matter what the circumstances were, I was going to orchestrate every single detail to perfection.

Finally my family stepped in and pointed out my problem. By focusing on the details, I was missing the bigger blessings. I was stressed and exhausted when I should have been relaxed and joyful.

Thankfully, with my family’s help, I began to realize that sometimes the details are NOT important. Instead it’s the time we spend with those we love—not the ways we spend that time—that’s important.

That’s a lesson we can all benefit from, especially this holiday time of year. 

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