It's All About Perspective.

I am currently lying awake in bed at 5 am. I went to sleep just 4 short hours ago, until I was rudely awakened by terribly itchy eyes and a nose that I can hardly breathe out of due to allergies. My first reaction was to open my twitter feed and complain to the still-asleep world that I was awake at 5 am because of my stupid allergies. Why do we even have allergies anyways? What is the point in sneezing 10 times in a row and not being able to go out on a summer night without taking a hundred doses of allergy medicine? Why can't I just sleep through the night like any other normal person?

So I complained. I tweeted, "I'm really excited to be in Canada for a month because my allergies won't wake me up at 5 AM." I have the opportunity to serve at the most beautiful camp facility that I have ever seen, surrounded by breath-taking mountains, green everest forests, and whales coming up through the water. I have the opportunity to serve and grow with 45 other high school students from all over the nation for an entire month and be completely isolated from cell phones and social media. I have the opportunity to give a small amount of time focused on serving God and serving others at a place where thousands have come to know Christ. I have the opportunity to be grown and challenged like I never have been before, and I wrote that I'M EXCITED BECAUSE MY ALLERGIES WON'T WAKE ME UP AT 5 AM. 

Talk about feeling like an idiot. Not to mention, I didn't think through the fact that I will probably be awake at 5 am anyways--riddle me that one.

As if I didn't feel selfish and stupid enough already, that's when God decided to really clear up any confusion and remind me that earlier today, I learned that a student in my grade, and also son of a beloved staff member, was diagnosed with leukemia.

Let me reiterate that.

I'm sitting here throwing a pity party for myself and complaining about my "terrible, miserable life" because I didn't get my desired 9 hours of sleep, when a fellow student of mine is facing life-changing and possibly life-threatening circumstances.

Sometimes, it's important to take a minute and realize how truly blessed we are. Sometimes all it takes is  one moment of asking: What can I be thankful for in this moment? My annoying allergies and lack of sleep are two very unimportant issues in comparison to the countless reasons that I have to be thankful.
Along with trusting in God and His plan for our lives through the midst of ongoing tragedy around us, we should be praising Him and thanking Him! Once we realize how minuscule our own problems are, we are given the opportunity to begin to pray for those who are facing far more difficult circumstances.

Life is all about the perspective you choose to face it with.