What we think about is important.
You probably know that already. I talk about it often here on the blog and in my Facebook group: Catch Your Thoughts with Robyn Mulder.
Recently I wasn’t living as if I believed that. I got bogged down in tons of thoughts about some situations that have been bothering me. Nothing major, but letting my mind ruminate on all of the little worries was leading to lots of stress.
One day this week I grabbed a stack of old church bulletins from a box and went through them while I listened to some podcasts.
My eyes skimmed over the words as I decided what to do with each one. Most of them went in the recycling pile, but once in a while I added one to the little pile to keep.
Every single bulletin brought back good memories of our first church in Chandler, Minnesota. Names, places, sermon titles, yearly events, prayer concerns, births, weddings, and deaths all stirred my memory banks and had me reliving those early years of ministry.
As I sorted, I felt more peace. Thinking about Chandler and everything we did there got my mind off the niggling thoughts that were stressing me out. It was a good distraction.
It got me thinking about how I could choose to do that with other activities.
I could sit and play my guitar. Or listen to music. Or take a walk and enjoy the flowers planted around town. Or play in my craft room and make a card or paint a simple picture. Or read a good book.
There are lots of things I could do instead of ruminating on my worries.
Now, I’m not saying I should ignore them completely. They are real concerns, but it does me no good to just keep thinking about them constantly. I need to acknowledge that they’re bothering me, do what I can in some situations, admit I can do nothing about other situations, pray about all of them, and determine to keep living a good life through it all.
When the negative thoughts start spinning out of control, it’s time to get away from them with a good distraction.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2 NIV)
Do you ever get stuck in negative thoughts? How can focusing on God help you find a good distraction from your worries?
I am the same way. I have found too, focusing on something that energizes me can help me snap out of my rumination.
Glad I’m not the only one, Darcy! I’m going to try being more deliberate about this because it’s way to easy to keep spinning in negativity if I don’t do something. ~Robyn