My mind wanders.
I have always been a daydreamer and I used to get in a bit of trouble for that when I was a student. This was definitely more evident in grade school. Now, I like to blame it on my creative mind that just has to envision all of life's potential and possibilities.
I have caught my mind wandering this past week... a lot.
I have been at a sales training in Seattle with my employer. I typically dread these types of events because in the past I have experienced some poor decisions by upper management to turn the meeting into a kick your salespeople in the butt to motivate them- which always had the opposite response. I usually left the meeting wondering if I was going to get canned for saying the wrong thing or for just speaking up at all. It was always better to be a fly on the wall. You know- don't draw attention to yourself but participate when directed. Yuck!
Anyway, this experience was a whole lot different. My employer invested in me. They wanted to help us improve our skill sets as salespeople to better equip us in the marketplace. It was a great meeting! I have a fantastic employer who is positioning themselves to be the first choice window and door manufacturer in America.
But, during the entire meeting...
My mind kept wandering. I kept daydreaming. I kept longing in my heart for something that was born in my dreams that I see constantly ahead of me.
So I got to wondering, where does our mind go when it wanders? Could it be that what our minds gravitate to is what consumes us? What does this say about who we are? Does it really matter?
There is a passage in scripture that tells us that we should love God above anything else in this life and that we should "think" about Him constantly. Specifically, this part of scripture is talking about the Ten Commandments that Moses was given by God. Here is what it says- "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
Now, when Jesus was asked to sum up the Ten Commandments he replied that we should love God and love people. In a letter to the community of Jesus followers in Philippi (located in modern day Greece), Paul tells this small group of people that they should only think of things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and so on.
So, where does our mind tend to go when we just sit in silence or daydream or glaze over in a boring lecture? What occupies most of our thoughts? What dictates where our mind wanders? What kind of impact does this have on our lives? It sounds to me that what we think about or where our mind wanders to may just have a deeper insight into who we are at the core than what we tend to typically realize. Maybe our minds wander to what our hearts really desire.
Here is what the wisest man who ever lived had to say about it...
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
"All a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart."
"As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man."
I have always been a daydreamer and I used to get in a bit of trouble for that when I was a student. This was definitely more evident in grade school. Now, I like to blame it on my creative mind that just has to envision all of life's potential and possibilities.
I have caught my mind wandering this past week... a lot.
I have been at a sales training in Seattle with my employer. I typically dread these types of events because in the past I have experienced some poor decisions by upper management to turn the meeting into a kick your salespeople in the butt to motivate them- which always had the opposite response. I usually left the meeting wondering if I was going to get canned for saying the wrong thing or for just speaking up at all. It was always better to be a fly on the wall. You know- don't draw attention to yourself but participate when directed. Yuck!
Anyway, this experience was a whole lot different. My employer invested in me. They wanted to help us improve our skill sets as salespeople to better equip us in the marketplace. It was a great meeting! I have a fantastic employer who is positioning themselves to be the first choice window and door manufacturer in America.
But, during the entire meeting...
My mind kept wandering. I kept daydreaming. I kept longing in my heart for something that was born in my dreams that I see constantly ahead of me.
So I got to wondering, where does our mind go when it wanders? Could it be that what our minds gravitate to is what consumes us? What does this say about who we are? Does it really matter?
There is a passage in scripture that tells us that we should love God above anything else in this life and that we should "think" about Him constantly. Specifically, this part of scripture is talking about the Ten Commandments that Moses was given by God. Here is what it says- "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
Now, when Jesus was asked to sum up the Ten Commandments he replied that we should love God and love people. In a letter to the community of Jesus followers in Philippi (located in modern day Greece), Paul tells this small group of people that they should only think of things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and so on.
So, where does our mind tend to go when we just sit in silence or daydream or glaze over in a boring lecture? What occupies most of our thoughts? What dictates where our mind wanders? What kind of impact does this have on our lives? It sounds to me that what we think about or where our mind wanders to may just have a deeper insight into who we are at the core than what we tend to typically realize. Maybe our minds wander to what our hearts really desire.
Here is what the wisest man who ever lived had to say about it...
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
"All a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart."
"As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man."
Maybe scripture is trying to tell us that when our minds wander that it should find its way to God and Jesus. Maybe our minds should wander to the things that God cares about. Maybe we should be consumed in our thoughts by how to best serve God by serving others.
I am convinced that what we think about when our minds wander is what we ultimately desire in life.
I am convinced that what we think about when our minds wander is what we ultimately desire in life.
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composed by
dave
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