Gid's Perspective

Alma 57:30-35

30 And now, these are the words which Gid said unto me: Behold, we did start to go down to the land of Zarahemla with our prisoners. And it came to pass that we did meet the spies of our armies, who had been sent out to watch the camp of the Lamanites.

31 And they cried unto us, saying—Behold, the armies of the Lamanites are marching towards the city of Cumeni; and behold, they will fall upon them, yea, and will destroy our people.

32 And it came to pass that our prisoners did hear their cries, which caused them to take courage; and they did rise up in rebellion against us.

33 And it came to pass because of their rebellion we did cause that our swords should come upon them. And it came to pass that they did in a body run upon our swords, in the which, the greater number of them were slain; and the remainder of them broke through and fled from us.

34 And behold, when they had fled and we could not overtake them, we took our march with speed towards the city Cumeni; and behold, we did arrive in time that we might assist our brethren in preserving the city.

35 And behold, we are again delivered out of the hands of our enemies. And blessed is the name of our God; for behold, it is he that has delivered us; yea, that has done this great thing for us.

What strikes me most about these passages is Gid's positive perspective, despite the escape of the prisoners. Losing those prisoners was, on its own, a bad thing, since those prisoners were then free to rejoin the Lamanite army. However, the escape of the prisoners enabled Gid and his men to stop having to worry about guarding their prisoners all the way to Zarahemla, so they were free to help save Cumeni. Gid was only able to help save Cumeni because those prisoners escaped. That's why Gid considered the escape of the prisoners a "great thing" even though it was, on its own, a bad thing.

This probably happens a lot in life. Negative events sometimes pave the way for positive outcomes and prove to be good overall. So perhaps we should not be so quick to judge our luck as good or bad. Sometimes, bad things can lead to good things, and vice versa. Perspective matters. I want to have a positive, glass-half-full perspective, like that of Gid.