Think on These Things

“Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything,” it says in Philippians 4 v 6. It goes on to say that we must, instead, make our wants known to God with thanksgiving; and that when we do an otherworldly peace shall swoop in to garrison and mount guard over our hearts and minds. I don’t know about you, but I want this sort of thing to unfold in my life.

If it says in the bible that we must not fret or have anxiety, then it means things are going to happen in this life that cause us to fret or have anxiety. When things get lost or broken, when relationships are under strain, when the cares of life mount up like building blocks being stacked by inquisitive children, how do we behave?

I haven’t written for three weeks because I have been participating in an eight week course on Relational Education, and exceptional as it has been, I have been losing sleep to fit it in. As it is, sleep was already not in abundance because the teenagers keep us up late for one reason or another and then the little ones wake us up during the night. William Wordsworth calls sleep the “blessed barrier between day and day, dear mother of fresh thoughts and joyous health!” And I have been going without it.

My big children are making more and more decisions without my input, and they are often out in the big wide world doing their thing without me, and that’s a big deal for a Mama’s heart. When they have questions and concerns and when they open up about what’s going on their lives, it’s all big stuff, it’s not about grazes and story time and sharing toys and planning the next birthday party anymore. Mourn might be too strong a word, but there is a level of sorrow in me that must be felt; the chicks are getting big, they are flexing their muscles (even literally) and they are speaking their minds on a whole lot of things. We encourage communication around here but when teenagers are disgruntled, it can be very hard not to take things personally. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” I completely agree with Charles Dickens. He wasn’t talking about the highs and lows (even within the same day!) of life with adolescents but his words are just right.

Our cars have been taking turns to break down. Just when we think the plan is going to work out, another car story.

A moth laid eggs on one of my favourite climbing plants and within twenty four hours it was a leafless tangle of vines, caterpillars creeping all over it, stuffing their faces.

The puppy keeps ripping our clothes. Things are getting a little tatty around here. It’s fine if you want to walk around with ripped jeans for fashion’s sake but when your toddler’s butt cheek or knee cap is blowing in the breeze, it’s not the same thing. I have a billowing blue dress that (unfortunately) nearly touches the grass whilst hanging on the line to dry. One of my children told me that they saw our little pup racing around the garden dragging that delightful piece of my wardrobe behind her. It’s frills have been shredded like the frayed edges on the wings of an owl.

I am not complaining here, and these ‘losses’ are nothing in comparison to people we care for who are grieving the loss of their loved ones right now. I’m just listing some things I’ve identified that have worn down, disappointed or made me concerned. Things that threaten my peace. There are more, but I don’t write about everything of course, some things I only tell to the people I drink tea with. I bet you have stories to tell as well. Much better ones than mine. Life is not always sunshine and roses, and it’s so important that we take hold of the peace whether it’s feel good season or not.

“For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honourable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things (fix your minds on them). Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.” (Philippians 4 v 8 & 9)

Winsome. What a word! This describes things that are attractive or appealing in a fresh, innocent way. A call to fix our minds on higher things. What have we got to lose? Either we can panic, stew over our issues and get stomach ulcers, or we can pray, give thanks and think on things that are true, excellent and lovely. I wonder how often we have the exact key and we just don’t use it. As we sit in a windowless room filled with anxiety threatening to take over, we need to move to the door, unlock it and run into the vast spaces washed with light where peace and well being is the air we breathe no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.

When we lose some, think winsome.