Thank you, Captain Obvious

I’ve got a question for y’all. I suppose it’s on my mind because the beloved farmer and I just celebrated our respective birthdays. Tell me, are you as young as you used to be?

That’s pretty much what I thought. So, why would I ask such a silly question? Because every time I hear someone tell someone else that he or she isn’t as young as they used to be, I want to say, “Thank you, Captain Obvious.” I have a weird sense of humor, I’ll own that. But I have often said that I double dog dare someone to show me anyone who is as young as they used to be. If we’re breathing, we’re aging, at least chronologically. I realize pointing this out isn’t going to make anyone stop saying it, but I feel better, so there’s that.

People also like to say, “you’re as old as you feel.” I understand that reasoning, as well, but I think we’d do much better to realize that we will be as old as we think. And now, I’m talking about our thought lives, not our calendar years.  The truth is the things we allow ourselves to relive, to regret, to rehash, or to relish will renew us and strengthen us, or they’ll drain us and age us. We get to choose.

God has designed us so that we get to choose what we’re thinking about, moment by powerful moment. Romans 12:2 reads, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Being transformed by the renewing of our minds suggests someone who is getting better over time, not bitter.

Unwelcome thoughts bombard us all. Don’t believe them. Don’t receive them. The longer they hang around, the more they’ll drag us down, and as they say, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” We have a gospel to preach, a world to love, and a light to shine.  Think about it.

Hugs,
Shellie