We are bombarded with all kinds of content, ideas, judgments, images and words, every single day. While we might encounter beautiful and good things, there is also pain and discouragement. But God invites us to proactively turn our heart and mind to the goodness that He is freshly creating each moment. The Salt Blog team is inviting you to join us in considering the true things, noble things, right things and pure things as we savor what God wants to share with His children.
Have you ever thought about… thinking? What do you spend most of your time thinking about? Have you noticed how your thinking makes you feel?
Driving to my home in the country from the city, do I see the hills, the sky, the forests and fields, the cows and horses? Do I really see them? Do I recognize how much the amazing gift of life is represented in all these things? Or do I just ruminate on problems to solve and things to do, with a load of wondering if I did such-and-such well or poorly, or what someone said or didn’t say to me? Do I compulsively roll around thoughts of what is happening around our country and the big, wide world, even about places I’ve never been to and will probably never go to?
Yes, these are often the thoughts that fill my head and cause me, more often than not, to feel discouraged, sad, angry, confused and a host of other feelings that basically bring me down. On my trip home, these kinds of thoughts are what fill my brain! With a mind and heart stuffed full with such thoughts and feelings, there’s not much room left for noticing the magnificence of God’s Creation all around me!
The apostle Paul apparently understood very well this tendency of human nature to get lost in negative thoughts. He writes in his letter to the Philippians (
Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Such powerful words! One surprising thing that Paul assumes is that we actually have some control over what we fill our heads with. We are not victims of random, negative, ruminating thoughts. How wonderful is that? We are more powerful than we think we are if we put into practice some of the ways Paul recommends us to live. And what an amazing promise: keeping our minds on the good things (that are every bit as real as the negative things, maybe even more so), will bring us into the peace of God.
One thing that’s true, but that’s so easy to miss, is the holiness all around us in our ordinary lives. Is holiness something that is only found in church or in spiritual mountaintop experiences or miracles (think: Moses’ burning bush)? Is holiness found only during the big milestones of our lives like a “salvation experience” or falling in love or childbirth or the passing of a loved one? Or can we experience holy moments while hiking, while cooking or gardening, while watching our child’s first soccer game, while riding our bike, while working at our job…while doing the dishes!
I mention dishwashing on purpose, since that was the occupation of Brother Lawrence, a 17th century French monk whose job it was to wash dishes in his monastery kitchen. He is still known and read today by his writings, put together in book form entitled Practicing the Presence of God. He would say that washing dishes can be a holy moment by doing so fully in the awareness of the presence of God who is always with us, always surrounding us. In other words, it’s not our circumstances or our environment that makes a moment holy; it’s the presence of God that makes it holy. And that can be anywhere at any time!
Brother Lawrence took the apostle Paul’s words seriously. He put into his daily practice the strength of his faith, that God walks with us every day, all day, no matter the circumstances. Certainly bad things happen in our lives and in the lives of others. We have to address these things with wisdom, perseverance and the right amount of attention. But to allow ourselves to be overcome with them threatens to throw us off our center, which is with our God who is the Center of everything.
The author Barbara Brown Taylor puts it this way:
“Earth is so thick with divine possibility that it’s a wonder we can walk anywhere without cracking our shins on altars.”
Surely there are “altars” all around us if we open our eyes and let the Holy Spirit show us the holiness in the ordinary things of our lives.
About the Author
John lives in Pleasant Hill with his dog, Gunnar, and a multitude of guests who enjoy the peace and beauty of the Cascade foothills. With three children and three grandchildren all living in Oregon, he is continually blessed with their company and the good food that always accompanies their get-togethers!