Front and Center

Psalm 119: 23
"Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes."

To my knowledge, I have never had princes plotting against me. When King David wrote this, he obviously had had a hard day, and the future seemed to hold more hard days. And if I were him, plotting princes would be all I could think about. Lou tells me that when I get something on my mind, I'm like a bulldog.  I don't stop pulling and  straining at it. I won't let it go. (I'm thankful here that I wasn't compared to a rottweiler, which I picture being a lot more vicious in their "not-letting-go-ness." )

not cute

cute

 But why wouldn't I think about it?  I'm trying to solve a problem.  It can't get solved unless I think about it, can it?

Of course I have to think about it. David thought about his issues and made plans. I have to do the same. But do I find myself brooding on the problem and what I'm going to do to fix it? Do I find myself brooding on the problem and what I'm going to do to fix it? Do I find myself brooding on the problem and what I'm going to do to fix it? (continue, ad nauseum).  I am told to meditate on God's statutes -  God's word.

When I read this verse the other day, I was up to my eyeballs in a parenting issue that was, shall I say, consuming me. Are you picturing "consuming?"  I was being eaten alive. I could hardly think of anything else. And the worst part? I was having thoughts about my offspring that I felt moms, who were really all they should be, would never have.

Enter the above verse from Psalm 119 that was part of my Bible reading one morning. God opened my eyes here and said to my heart, "You are meditating on the wrong thing. This issue is gonna bring you down and zap your joy if it stays so front and center. Think about it, and ask me for help.  I am the creator God and have given you the parenting creativity you need. Trust me to bring the solution to mind. You don't need to be obsessed or zapped. Meditate on my word."

Now, to meditate on God's word, it's either got to be memorized or front and center.  I have some memorized, and I have some front and center - or at least in my bathroom and my laundry room, where I spend a lot of thinking time since I'm usually alone in those places.

Inside bathroom cupboard: more tape, please

Laundry (I need to make this look prettier!)

That way, I have God's word in front of me - to correct my thinking and to give me hope. I share this to maybe give you some ideas and to encourage you to do whatever it takes to meditate on God's word.

This particular parenting issue is far from being completely resolved. But God has already, in the short time since this verse spoke to me, given some insight into this situation. He's helping me think differently, and consequently, act differently. Meditating beats brooding and obsessing any day.