The Perspective Shift that Made All the Difference

Okay, let's be honest... sometimes traveling does not bring out the best in us. For the two of us, it can be hard to maintain good communication and stay on the same page when routines are off and environments are unfamiliar.

Our summer trips to family camp have been no exception. In the midst of a busy camp schedule, we don't always have the chance for intentional check-ins with each other. Wires get crossed between the girls' cabin and the boys' cabin and our children wind up getting different answers from us when we haven't had a chance to get on the same page.

This year, however, we tried to proactively head ourselves off before we even left for camp. We remembered that this has consistently been a hiccup for us in years past, so we went into the week keeping one thing in the forefront of our minds: we are a gift to each other.

With that in mind, we tried to maintain good communication with all the moving parts of the week, and we did not assume offense when wires got crossed. Our "gift" perspective was the filter through which everything else passed. And it worked! Relationally, this was our smoothest week at camp so far, and all it took was setting the right perspective before things got crazy, and then holding on to it as the week unfolded.