My Brain & The Mosquitos

"Momma, sometimes, when I'm mad at you, I think bad thoughts about you in my head." said my daughter with a quavery voice and a wobbling chin... I'm not sure if she was nervous and slightly tearful because she felt badly about the thoughts or the fact that she thought she was in deep trouble. "Really?" came my calm reply. "What kind of thoughts do you have, honey?" She went on to describe the struggle going on inside her head that included but wasn't limited to -  calling mommy bad names...mmm... ouch.

What day did my little girl grow up and start dealing with a troublesome thought life? Wasn't she still wearin' pull-ups and drinkin' out of sippy cups? As I pulled myself back to this day, this hour, this moment, I looked at her little face in the rear view mirror tuggin' on her lip with her teeth and I smiled a smile to let her know Momma wasn't mad and everything would be fine. "We'll talk about this later, okay?" She smiled and said "Okay."

Thankfully, I had a few minutes on the road in between all the activities of our typical evening to calm my heart and text my husband and a good girlfriend! Helped me act with a little more calm that I didn't completely feel. Later on when the night had settled down and it was just the two of us awake, I sat her next to me on the couch and showed her a Scripture on my laptop (because it's much cooler to read your Bible on a laptop, you see)...

 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." - 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

 I said, "Babe, your mind is kinda like a bug-catching net and your thoughts are like butterflies," - well, actually we changed that part from butterflies to mosquitoes being the bad thoughts and butterflies being the good thoughts because she couldn't bear the thought of butterflies being caught in a net. - So, ahem... 

"Your bad thoughts are like mosquitoes and they buzz round and round your head trying to land. God's word tells us to use our mind like that net and catch the mosquito thoughts. It's important that we refuse to entertain ungodly thoughts." -or squish 'em cause they're mosquitoes of course.

" Sometimes we have to force our minds to think on other things like butterfly-thoughts and turn away the mosquito-thoughts." Next, we went over to this Scripture...

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things." - Philippians 4:8

 "Does that Scripture sound like its talkin' about butterfly thoughts or what?" I asked. She grinned big and gave me a hearty nod. Then, of course, we prayed together and all was right in her world again. ;0)

It's amazing to me how simple it is to point these kinds of things out to my children, but it's so difficult for me to DO what I'm pointing out to my children. Why is it easier to see the answers to someone else's struggle? Anyone else have that pesky issue? I know I need to often do a better job of refusing and turning away the bad thoughts and steering my mind toward the good.

 Here's a raise of my coffee mug to no more mosquito thoughts, but only butterfly thoughts...  can we add some caviar dreams and champagne riches too or is it caviar riches and champagne dreams?...  okay, maybe we can lose the champagne, but an iced vanilla mocha or Diet Dr. Pepper would work okay too. ;0)