When I see what Winston can do to one of his chew toys in a couple of hours, it makes me glad my dog likes me.
Winston chomps through his playthings like a lion with a t-bone, forcing me to throw away the pitiful remnants of countless squeaky toys and ropes that couldn’t withstand the fury of my dog’s robust frolicking.
One of my favorite toys that failed the Winston test was a grey plush thing shaped like a raccoon head that grunted like a pig when you squeezed it. The effect was a bit disturbing, I must say, but Winston liked it. And I did, too, primarily because of its name: “Tughead.”
“Tughead” – what a great name…and how easy for me to identify with it.
Too many days I allow worries, plans, ideas, and deadlines to pull my head to and fro, hither and yon. Sometimes thoughts zing around in my brain like pinballs in an arcade game. (Do ya think I should maybe switch to decaf?)
I’ve undergone way too many surgeries in recent years, but perhaps I should have added a lobotomy to the list. With part of my brain removed, maybe I could get a little peace and quiet. (I’m trying not to imagine my husband shouting, “Amen!” here.) But even if the brain surgeon left only a speck of gray matter, I bet that speck would still think too much.
There is a better way, I know, to stop being such a tughead. God tells me how in His Word.
He says, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). I need to shut off the pinball machine and take a moment to focus on just a few things – God is real; God is good; God loves me; and God is in control. Amazing how those truths calm my frazzled mind and heart.
He says to “take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Simply put, I need to think about what I’m thinking about, and make sure my thoughts line up with the truth of God’s Word.
As the old saying goes, “You may not be able to keep a bird from landing on your head, but you don’t have to let him build a nest there.” Likewise, I may not always be able to keep a destructive thought from flashing across my brain screen, but I don’t have to let it develop into a feature film.
Roping in our thoughts requires discipline, but it’s energy well spent because where our minds go, we usually follow.
Let’s say you’re on a diet. Suddenly, you think about a chocolate chip cookie. If you don’t nip that thought in the bud, guess where you’re going? To the cookie jar. Guaranteed.
Let’s say your teenage daughter sends way too many text messages and you end up with a honking big cell phone bill. That reminds you of the time she ran up your charge card, which reminds you of the speeding ticket she got last month, which reminds you of all the money you wasted on that year of oboe lessons when she was eight.
Pretty soon you’ve worked yourself up into a parental froth, all because you didn’t take your thoughts captive and simply focus on the one issue at hand.
Life can be nuts. Some occasional mental chaos is unavoidable. But there is hope for us tugheads. Jesus offers peace, if we’ll simply simmer down and choose to think like He thinks.