Where Will You Put Your Troubled Thoughts?

I’m not known for pristine countertops anyway, but if you make it a Friday afternoon and mix in a wedding reception craft, papers to grade, a few lunch boxes from the boy, and a stack of bills, it’s an end-of-the-week disaster.

So there’s that preacher man of mine with bachelor party gift in hand.

Let’s put this somewhere where I won’t forget it later.

He turns this wide circle in the kitchen while I look at him as if maybe he’s not the deeply intuitive, incredibly intelligent man I’ve always considered him to be. There’s no place. No inch in this kitchen, perhaps in this entire house, that doesn’t need to be wiped off or cleared off or Cloroxed.

I finally grab the gift and go find this one little piece of cement in the basement that the dust bunnies don’t mind sharing for a few hours.

Sometimes a girl just needs a place –one clean place.

Then there is me with my thoughts in hand over these last several weeks, and I have stood turning circles.

There’s no place, I’ve said to the preacher. Not one single place to rest my thoughts where there’s not some kind of pain or grief or overwhelming challenge. 

So he went to his office and worked hours and hours with his Bible in front of him. When he reached his right hand to click on his wireless mic at church Saturday night, he preached of a place for me. Other church folk were there and got to hear those hopeful words, too, but this was my man delivering God’s message to his wife.

Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus…  (Hebrews 3:1)

It means to rest your thoughts on Jesus, he said.

And I’m thinking about that disgusting house of mine, dirty in all corners, and this I can understand.

A place that’s always clear.

A woman can breathe when she finds a spot like this. So we begin our week here –bringing our troubled thoughts to Jesus.

(A NOTE: Friends, my daughter gets married in one week, and then my sweet momma is here to visit for a few weeks after that, so I’ll be taking lots of days off from blogging during this season. I love sharing words and life with you, so I’ll be back as I can. You all take care!)