Those Thoughts

 Good afternoon, and welcome.

 In the midst of everyday life and living, as we go about those things on our daily schedule, or deal with the unexpected that crops up from time to time, we sometimes find ourselves thinking about things totally unrelated to the task at hand.  Our minds wander.  They can go far away from whatever it is we are doing at the moment and latch on to something that seemingly came out of nowhere.

 I don’t know about you, but my mind often wanders, even when I’m driving on Kellogg, reading, or as I’m doing right now, typing this Thursday Thought.  That wandering covers the gamut from what I’ll be doing the rest of the day to thoughts of things that happened in my life decades ago.  Of course, everything in between is fair game, too.  Sadly , all too often those things that come to mind when I think about decades past are things that in some way I perceived as being detrimental to me.  And sometimes those thoughts are of are things that I probably shouldn’t be thinking about at all because of their moral or legal questionability.

 Out of nowhere it seems, a memory of a perceived slight by someone else toward me that happened years ago, or harmful words spoken to me, or that I spoke to someone else, or perhaps the memory of some bad experience of some kind comes to mind as my conscience wanders.  Maybe it was something a classmate said to me in junior high school.  Or perhaps it was something I did in Kindergarten class that brought the teacher’s attention.  It might be some disagreement I had with my wife decades ago where I can recall pretty much every word I said that I should never have spoken.

 Or maybe it is some kind of thought of something that never happened, and is morally or legally questionable, but that I might fantasize about happening to me or I myself doing whatever it was that I was thinking about.  You know what I’m talking about.  We’ve all been there.

 Those good memories…those pleasant times…those kind words spoken or heard…those thoughtful things that others did for us when we were in need…those good times with good friends…those memories are often shoved aside by the bad memories or questionable thoughts.  Those bad thoughts and memories then seem to grow and take root, expanding almost exponentially as we find ourselves caught up in the process and unable or unwilling to put it to a stop.

 I cannot get into your mind with a mind meld like Mr. Spock on the Star Trek series was able to do.  But I can tell you with pretty much absolute certainty that you relate to just about everything I’ve said so far.  You too recall entirely too many negative memories.  You too remember too many things that happened to you or that you did or said that are negative.  You too have thoughts of dubious moral, ethical, or legal value that keep coming into your mind anytime, anywhere.  And you too tend to dwell on these thoughts and memories, unwilling or unable to blot them out of your head.

 I know it may disappoint you, but I don’t have an answer for this phenomenon that seems to inhabit the human race.  I don’t know of any quick fixes or miracle cures.  What I do know is that dwelling on such memories and thoughts does one no good and can sometimes promote bad behavior, depression, and even physical illness.  Now, if you are willing follow me into the spiritual side of things regarding this issue, I can point you to a panoply of places in the Bible that talk about just the things we’ve been discussing.  Perhaps the most well-known of places is in Philippians where the Apostle Paul says this:  “

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

 There are other places in the Bible where the topic is speech, the tongue, giving grace, being merciful, and so on.  The Psalmist says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.  Try me and know my thoughts.”  There is also a Biblical place where it says, “The Lord knows the thoughts of mankind.  They are vanity.”  And the Bible has many places where the “thoughts of the heart” are mentioned, most of the time reminding the reader to be careful to keep those thoughts on the straight and narrow.  Such reminders would not be necessary if we humans didn’t have a great propensity for dwelling on the sad, the bad, and the ugly.

 As I said, I have no easy answers for the multitude of thoughts, many of them negative in some way, that come your way or come my way.  I do know, though, that with some discipline and in paying attention to our thoughts, and with the encouragement and help of God, we can train ourselves to dwell on better, happier, and healthier thoughts and subjects.  It takes work and effort, but is totally worth it.

 May God bless you as you work within His will to corral…hog tie if necessary your thoughts…and keep your thoughts pure and lovely and good.