After 22 years of marriage, there are things one learns. Take communication, for instance. What a woman says is not what a man hears. It is always pink vs. blue.
When my husband and I closed on our house, and remodeling was a for-sure issue, I introduced one idea after another. My descriptions of what I wanted to do were extremely clear. Yet he heard only blah, blah, blah, and ka-ching! My concepts never made it to the next step. My frustration escalated; I truly wanted him to see what I had in mind.
Then, I hit upon the concept of asking him to say, “Hmmm, that’s something to think about,” no matter how crazy my idea. The idea worked like a charm. He began to have wild ideas of his own, none of which I had any intention of completing. But I never shot down his ideas, either. We giggled and laughed…” that’s something to think about.”
I began to contemplate… “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). Whatever?
Yes, everything about which you are thinking should be Christ-centered. How, you ask? To have every thought captive in this manner, we must know the Word. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Whew! That sounds like a lot of work.
Work is what we were created to do. “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28).
We are not meant to sit back and watch the world go by. We’re to have dominion over the earth, and to keep our thoughts from the wasteland of nonsense. “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain’’ (1 Corinthians 15:58). Truly, that is something I need to think about!
My brain aches when I begin to realize those things I should be praying about, learning, and reading. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you’’ (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). None of us will ever “arrive” at “thinking” perfectly, but we can set goals for ourselves. We must strive to live in peace.
“Finally, brothers, good-bye. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss’’ (2 Corinthians 13:11-12). Now there you go! That was the missing link within the folly between my husband and me. Not only did I need to be living in peace with him (whether seeing through pink or blue glasses), but I needed to greet him with a kiss.
Plans on the house remodeling are going smoothly, because we have placed focus upon how to serve one another. As Peter said in 1 Peter 4:11, “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.’’ Now that is something to think about.
My home church: www.holytrinityopc.org
SpiritfmDenna@Hotmail.com
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