Black Women Have It Going On

Thursday, September 17, 2026

Good morning from Colorado! This week we’ve been talking about recognizing what we have, staying teachable, and being willing to see possibility where someone else may see a problem. Today I want to take that thought one step further because I’ve discovered something about myself: sometimes I have to change the way I’m looking at a situation before I can understand what is really happening.

That isn’t always easy. When we’re emotionally invested in something, we tend to see things from our own position. We know what we want. We know what we’ve worked for. We know what we’ve lost. We know what we believe should happen. And when someone comes along with a different perspective, our first reaction may be to defend our position instead of stopping to consider theirs.

Think about those little pecan seedlings we talked about earlier this week. One person could look at those seedlings and see unwanted plants growing in a flowerpot. Another person could look at the exact same seedlings and see possibility. Neither person was necessarily looking at something different. They were simply seeing it from a different perspective.

That has made me think about how often this happens in our own lives. Sometimes we’re so focused on what we’ve lost that we can’t see what remains. Sometimes we’re so focused on the five things that went wrong that we forget about the hundreds of things that are still going right. Sometimes we’re so determined to get the answer we want that we don’t stop to consider whether there might be another way to approach the problem.

And sometimes, if we’re honest, we’re so busy trying to prove that we’re right that we miss an opportunity to learn something.

That’s where humility comes in.

Being humble doesn’t mean we agree with everybody. It doesn’t mean we abandon our convictions. And it certainly doesn’t mean we allow someone else to make every decision for us. It simply means we’re willing to say, “Let me look at this from another perspective.”

That’s a powerful sentence.

I’ve had to learn it over and over again.

Even with those pecan seedlings, I saw something another person didn’t see. But that doesn’t automatically mean I had the right answer. Perhaps they didn’t want the responsibility that came with my idea. Perhaps what I saw as an opportunity wasn’t the opportunity they needed.

And that’s okay.

The lesson isn’t that one person was right and the other person was wrong. The lesson is that we can look at the same thing and see two completely different possibilities.

That has made me think about God.

How many times have I asked God to change something, only to become frustrated when He didn’t do it the way I expected? How many times have I looked at a closed door and assumed it was the end, when God may have been redirecting me? How many times have I focused so hard on what I thought I needed that I failed to notice what was already in front of me?

Perhaps sometimes God isn’t asking us to change the situation. Perhaps He’s asking us to change our view of the situation.

Maybe the thing we call a setback is actually a redirection. Maybe the delay is giving us time to prepare. Maybe the closed door is protecting us from something we cannot see. Maybe the person who disagrees with us is giving us an opportunity to examine something we haven’t considered.

We don’t have to accept every opinion we hear. We don’t have to change our convictions every time someone disagrees with us. But we can remain open enough to listen, pray, and ask God whether there is something we need to see differently.

The Takeaway for Us

We don’t have to abandon what we believe simply because someone sees things differently. But we can give ourselves permission to listen, step back, and look again. A different perspective doesn’t automatically mean we’re wrong, but it may reveal something we couldn’t see from where we were standing.

Sometimes the greatest wisdom is recognizing that we don’t need the final answer right away. We can pause, pray, gather more information, and let God help us see the bigger picture.

The Call to Action

Today, think about something in your life that has been frustrating you. Before you decide what it means, try looking at it from another angle.

What does it look like from someone else’s perspective? What might you be missing because you’re emotionally connected to the outcome? What if the thing you think is the problem isn’t actually the whole problem?

Then take it to God and ask Him, “Lord, help me see this the way You want me to see it.”

That prayer may not change the situation immediately, but it may change you as you walk through it.

Scripture

Proverbs 3:7 (KJV)

“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”

That Scripture reminds me that I don’t know everything. Neither do you. And that’s okay.

We don’t have to know everything when we serve a God who sees what we cannot see.

15 Minutes with God

Father, help me see beyond my own perspective.

When I’m frustrated, slow me down. When I feel certain that I’m right, give me humility. When someone offers me another point of view, help me listen before I dismiss it.

Give me wisdom to know when to stand firm and when to reconsider. Help me look beyond what troubles me and recognize the many things You have still placed in my life.

When I can’t understand what You are doing, remind me that You can see the entire picture when I can only see one piece.

And when You ask me to change my direction, my attitude, or simply my view, give me the courage to say, “Lord, help me see what You see.”

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

I’ll see you tomorrow for another 15 Minutes with God.