Oh, the Thinks I Think

Oh, the thinks you can think! 
Do you remember this rhyme?
It's a Seuss poem that 
Celebrates the wonders of your mind!

I've thought quite a bit about thinking this week. I'm not sure whether it was the heavy amounts of rain or the change in seasons or the stage of my pregnancy, but my mind has been a whirling dervish of thoughts lately.

I can't seem to shut them off. I think about everything. A list for your amusement (and maybe even your commiseration):

• did I feed the cats?

• is the garage going to flood?

• we need to spray the yard for bugs.

• I don't read enough to my four-year-old

• I wonder if I need a better quality pre-natal vitamin?

• should I change my Facebook privacy settings?

• I need to plant a garden!

• does this mole look funny?

• my house is too cluttered...

• I must immediately rid my family of half of our possessions!

• we need to have a cook out for the twentysomethings in our church.

• how long do lemons keep?

• let's paint the house white!

• I hope so-and-so doesn't think I'm mad at them.

• I can't remember the last time I cleaned my Keurig...

• Is my Keurig slowly killing me?

You get the gist. A whirling dervish. A tornado of constant thought and activity leaving trails of debris and cluttering my mind.

Indeed, I may have the entire cast of Seussical: the Musical performing a litany of worrisome songs up in my brain:

Clean the coffee maker

You silly oomph!

Germs are slowly growing

and killing you, to boot!

I'm fairly certain this is not the freedom my Jesus wants me to live in. In fact, He has commanded me to not worry. To not ask these silly questions, but to seek after God and His Kingdom. 

"Just chill," says Jesus Christ, Savior of the World.

How do I do this? Chilling is hard for me, Lord. You have made my incredible brain. You know how it is wired. You know it so well, in fact, that you knew to tell me while you were walking on the earth  to stop worrying and to settle down.

Like I said, I've been thinking about thinking. And I think I have found a way to help us calm the storms of our mind. Lean in now, you don't want to miss this.

Colossians 3:2 says, "Set your mind on things above, not on earthy things."

Scripture is giving a clear command of what "thinks" should be taking up space in our brains, things above. Before we get into what these things are, let's focus on the second part of that verse. Earthly things. 

I bet you can help me add to this list of what is considered an earthly thing. In no particular order: wealth, power, success, fame, ALL THE THINGS I COULD BUY, impressing people, pleasing people...

I could go on. Maybe some of these things don't seem sinful...and you'd be right. For example, Disney World is my jam. I would go to Disney World twice a year if I could. It is truly the most magical place on earth. I see the gates with Mickey welcoming me and my heart starts to sing a little bit. 

But guess what? The House of Mouse is totally an earthly thing. So what do all these earthly things have in common?

They don't matter. Hear me when I say this....They. Don't. Matter. 

This is why Paul tells us in Colossians to not put our focus on these fleeting, momentary fillers that don't make one bit of difference in the Kingdom of Heaven.

So if these are the things I shouldn't be focusing on, what are these things above that should garner all my attention?

Heavenly things, darling. Eternal things. The things that actually do make bits of difference in the Kingdom of Heaven. Things like loving others, the solid rock truth of Jesus, praise and thankfulness to a living God, the spreading of the gospel of Jesus, generosity, faithfulness, perseverance, and hope. Wonder that such a great and mighty God cares about the thoughts in my head.

Heavenly things sound, well, heavenly, don't they?

Your beautiful brain was made to think about wonderful things, good things, eternal things. 

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 

Philippians 4:8

I hope you'll join me in this new way of thinking. I hope that when the tornado of worrisome activities start to circulate in your mind you'll stop and give several minutes of focused attention on the things that actually matter. 

Oh, the thinks I was made to think:

Bright things! New things!

Good things! True things!

I shall turn my worries into praise

I won't waste my thoughts,

Not for one single day!

The next time our brains are eager to clutter themselves with earthly things, will you join me in saying no? Let's make an effort to not waste time with things that just don't matter. Let's set our minds on things that do.