Whatever is true, noble, right……think on these things.  Philippians 4:8

     I was with two of my grandchildren the other day—siblings with a four-year age gap between them. What that generally means is the older one dominates. It just is by virtue of age and position.  Plus, the younger one tends to be more agreeable.  On this day there weren’t many things they agreed on, but we had navigated the day so far without war. When I presented the two choices for after lunch, again there was disagreement, and the younger one, who usually acquiesces, said, “Hey I never get a vote. We always do what she wants. (pointing to the older child).” I agreed that she was right. (The truth is, she usually does acquiesce and the older one doesn’t, so it’s just easier on everybody—or so I thought.)

     I said to the older one, “We are going to do what she wants to do right now, because she’s right.” Knowing that it was true, the older one agreed. And it was good; we had fun doing it.

     However, when we got to my house an hour later, there was another discussion about what was going to happen next, and again, no meeting of the minds. I said, “Let’s do what the older one wants.” Immediately the younger one said, “I never get a vote. What I want to do never happens.” I looked at her. “Are you kidding me? We just did want you wanted!”

     I thought of that event this morning when I read, “When we think thoughts repeatedly, we tend to believe them, whether they are true or not.”  My younger granddaughter had said that “truth” so many times that she totally missed it when she got her wish. She still believed she was the “never- win.”

     I do this with God. I go through a bad patch and start saying, “I can’t catch a break.” Or, “Nothing good ever happens to me.” And I miss all the good that is around me everywhere!  And God must be saying, “Are you kidding me? I can’t believe you just said that. Yesterday I did _________.  And today I did ____________. And you have________________.“ What if we looked for what is good? What if we said what was true?

     Be careful what you say repeatedly. You might just believe it.

*What is the one thing you have been repeating that might not really be true?

Dear God, Open my eyes to Your goodness all around me, even when I go through a “bad patch.” Help me to stop griping and complaining and saying things that aren’t true. What that does is blind me to the good. Help me to be careful about the things I repeat and check them against what is true. In Jesus’ name, Amen.


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