Life in the Bubble

Sometimes we all need a little perspective. It can be so easy to become consumed with the little bubbles we live in and forget the outside world. My girls and their issues become all I think about as I sleep, breathe and live the unit. My worldview shrinks and my reference point becomes what does and doesn't work for the eight girls I work with. They are important, and I love my job, but they aren't my entire life. I had a wonderful reminder of that as I got to step outside my bubble and travel to Mississippi to see my Mississippi people and watch one of the most influential people in my life get married last week.
I was surrounded by people who didn't need me to de-escalate them. Children had tantrums and no one looked at me to solve it. No one tried to run away, no one got physical, and no one needed me to medicate, feed, tutor, or keep them on a routine. I was an adult, with other adults, and everyone was happy. It was the oddest feeling. The world continued on in the unit without me, and I was able to take a break and realize that the outside world still exists and welcomes me when I have the time to encounter it. I reconnected with friends, made some new ones, ate great food, laughed until I cried, had my breath taken away by beauty, and stood in the company of great men and women. I saw Elizabeth gazing at Matthew as she walked down the aisle to join her life with his. I saw Matthew's giddy grin when they were pronounced man and wife. I was reminded that relationships are not all dysfunctional and warped.
Stepping outside my bubble gave me better perspective once I returned to "normal" life. I had recharged and taken time to refocus my energies and attitude. Everything wasn't horrible and stressful, I had just been in the world and seen beauty. My girls weren't all I had to think about or focus on, as I was reminded of all the people I have who love me and are there when I need them. My world was better focused because I had something to balance it.
I also got another perspective. While I was in Mississippi preparing for a wedding, I took a minute to check the news and learned of the attacks on Paris. I was reminded that my worldview needed to include the world. My small bubble was not the only one I was called to impact in some way. Terrorists commit heinous acts everyday in countries who are classified as "war-torn" or "third world" and we don't feel rocked to our core because we are desensitized and busy. But Paris struck a chord and we were reminded that safety is not a guarantee and our comfort zones are not our mission fields.
My job is important, but it is not the only one I have. I am called to bring Christ to those who seek him, no matter what they look like.
I logged into Facebook with caution, knowing some friends would be able to show Christ-like compassion, and some would have taken the opportunity to suit up in their judges robes. I was not surprised by what I saw. Some friends have taken the time to try to learn how to love those who look different while others have grown comfortable in their towers from which they look upon the rabble. I decided to mix the beauty with the ashes and attempt to see both for what they were in the hopes that I was seeing clearly.
I needed, and was given, perspective. There is beauty and terror in the world where we live. My job is important, but not my entire life and reason for living. I have been called to be here, but not only here. Rest and work, sorrow and joy, quiet and noise, we all need balance. As you figure out where you stand in the days and weeks to come, I hope you are able to find the beauty, see the truth of the terror and widen your scope so that your perspective can be more like that of Christ.