2 GUIDEPOSTS.ORG
KATIEHOGINHave you ever been in a situation
where it seems as if things will never
get better? Where you feel like you’re
stuck and can’t move forward?
That’s exactly how I felt about four
years ago. I had recently moved to
New York. My seasonal job had end-
ed, and I found myself unemployed.
I had a few options I was waiting to hear back from, but at
that moment everything seemed pretty dismal.
Most of us have something that we treat ourselves to in
order to cheer us up when we’re feeling down. For me,
it’s coffee. So I took myself out to my favorite café. Sitting
there, I still felt melancholy. Until I noticed something. My
phone, which was sitting faceup on the table, had somehow
navigated to the camera app. The front-facing camera
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the softly candescent Edison bulb on the wall. From this
perspective, the moment looked picturesque, not bleak. I
snapped a photo and thought: What would happen if
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divinely guided to look at things in a new way. That’s the
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selves. Like the couple who lost their dog and found a new
definition of what it means to be a family (page 18). Or
the man who was able to stay sober after changing his per-
spective on the role of faith in recovery (page 28). Or the
woman whose mysterious encounter gave her a new un-
derstanding of her estranged mother (page 38).
As for me, that small moment in the café helped me shift
my thinking. Instead of being scared by all of the uncer-
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that time. My new outlook helped me to actually enjoy
the present while I planned for the future. How about you?
What’s your story about being guided to a new perspec-
tive? E-mail it to us at [email protected].
—Hilary Ribons, SENIOR EDITOREditor’s Note