Don’t chase the squirrels

One day when I was bombarding my Dad with thoughts and questions that I had,asked me if my mind ever slowed down. He was a patient and quiet man. I was not. We came from different times. He grew up during a time before television. I grew up with radio and television. My kids are growing up with smart phones. Why am I telling you this? A study was done prior to smartphones that found that the average American was exposed to over three thousand advertisements per day. How many would that be now?! The more we are stimulated in our minds, the more unsettled our thoughts become. Today, scrolling through social media or watching video shorts has filled our minds with images causing our brains to be like a nut tree full of squirrels. We are all over the place. How do we silence the noise? If we can’t silence the noise then how do we pray? Does God ask us if our minds ever stop? Do we wait for our minds to quiet down before we pray? I would say no because our minds in this generation never stop!
Philippians 4:6&7 says this: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I’m going to paraphrase this for you. Don’t wait for your mind to settle. Take your nut tree full of hungry squirrels with you to God. Tell him about all the noise, the questions, the doubts, the fears, the pain, the anger, you see where I’m going with this right? You take all that junk and talk to God about it. He will listen. He’s a patient and quiet God who loves you and cares about all that you care about. As you talk to him, the squirrels get full and one by one they begin to leave the tree. Soon your mind is free from anxiety and you can just praise and thank God for his kindness and goodness!
Don’t try to run those squirrels out of your tree my friends. They’ll drive you nuts! Go ahead and laugh. That was funny. Take them to God. He’s like a squirrel whisperer.
Thank you Lord first of all for your patience. Thank you for listening and even more for caring for us and all that is on our hearts. It’s heavy Lord. Give us peace. Your peace so that we can praise you and thank you as you deserve!

Have a blessed day