What Are You Thinking About?                             From the Pastor

Finally, beloved,^* whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about^* these things.                                                                                                                 – Philippians 4:8

Why should we think upon things that are lovely? Because thinking determines life. It is a common habit to blame life upon the environment. Environment modifies life but does not govern life. The soul is stronger than its surroundings.                                                                                                              –William James

In one of our home windows, we have one of those transparent pieces of glass suspended from a piece of fishing line.  It was purchased at a Renaissance Fair in Maryland many years ago.  Most times, the prism just hangs quietly without any special effects.  But at certain times of the day, when the sunlight meets the glass-- just so-- the prism will cast a beautiful rainbow of light on our wall.  The prism will flash and sparkle when light hits it— and if you look for long, you can become mesmerized by the optic effect. 

The prism reminds me of the human mind and its capacity to reflect beauty—or ugliness.  I read somewhere that the human being has between 12,000-50,000 thoughts per day.  That’s a lot of brain activity!  I wonder just how many of those thoughts are positive in nature.  Apparently, a lot of us spend time thinking miserable and self-defeating thoughts, or we have the same depressing, unhealthy thoughts over and over and over again.  This is a lot of our mind’s energy--and our lives!--given over to potentially destructive thinking.

Now before you start quoting Norman Vincent Peale and excerpts of his bestseller, The Power of Positive Thinking, I want to be quick to say that I don’t believe that there is a sure-fire link between our thoughts and our particular circumstances, whether good, bad, or somewhere in-between.  But I do believe that we are a bit like that prism hanging in the window.  We are created to reflect God’s light—and sometimes that can only happen when we turn our minds around just so.  And sometimes it’s really helpful to spend time examining and wiping away the smudges that keep the light from getting through.

Lent is upon us, those 40 days leading up to Easter.  A self-reflective season, Lent is a time when we can meditate upon how our various behaviors draw us closer in relationship to the Divine, or how they can distance us from the Divine.  Lent is also a time of relinquishment—a time of letting go of those things that obstruct the soul’s progress—and often prohibit healthy relationship with ourselves or others.  One of those things is our negative thought patterns.  How often do we focus on our disappointments and failures?  How often do our thoughts reflect a critical, judgmental attitude toward our neighbor --or ourselves, for that matter?  How often do we believe that our emotions and feelings have complete control over us, rather than vice versa?  What are we thinking about with our 60,000 thoughts a day?  Do our spoken thoughts tend to drain or deplete ourselves or others?  Or do they uplift others?  Are we spending more time complaining than proclaiming the good news of God?

This Lent, I wonder if we can just become more aware of the many, varied, and potentially harmful or exceedingly beautiful thoughts that we think in any given day.  We can make choices about how and what we spend most of our time thinking and (sometimes) obsessing about.  We can send those terrible, anxious, agonizing thoughts out to an imaginary sea and watch them drift away. We can dedicate our best thoughts to each other and to God. We can find more positive and helpful things to consider, to dream about, and to appreciate. 

This, too, can be a lovely Lenten practice.  We can question the darkness of our thoughts and feelings and learn to believe at the deepest level of our being that our thoughts are not dependent on our outside circumstances.  Our thought patterns are not somehow beyond God’s reach.  In the words of William James, “we are stronger than our surroundings.” 

Or—put another way— The Lord will be Lord of our bodies, our souls, and our minds.

            The glass that I mentioned earlier has a small chip in one of its many angles.  Even though the glass is “broken” on that side, it still reflects the light beautifully.  At one time, I considered replacing the prism with a more” intact” version.  But I have since decided against it.  We all have broken places.  The prism, though chipped, reminds me that we don’t have to be perfect to capture God’s light.  Sometimes those very imperfections can teach us new ways of thinking, of being, and of responding.

This Lent, may your thoughts bring you closer to God’s glory and peace.

Peace,

Rev. Dee