Today, I was using my vacuum and I noticed that she wasn’t working very hard. I was surprised, because I have been quite kind to my lovely appliance, rarely making her do any work. She seemed to be having a difficult time “sucking”; the poor dear was having her own type of appliance asthma attack.
I sat on the floor and began to peer into her cylindrical body parts. I determined that one of her vessels had to be clogged; she was going to require surgical assistance from me. Screwdriver in hand, I unclenched the cylinder that was connected to her heart.
I was sure that whatever was blocking her heart from functioning at its fullest capabilities had to be a very large and sturdy object, and I began to wonder who her enemies might be–that they would shove such an enormous object in front of her and force her to swallow it whole.
When the tube came free, approximately 40 tiny air-soft gun pellets fell to the floor. Round, red and plastic–each one approximately 0.05cm, the little pellets danced across the floor in freedom.
As I began to gather the pellets, it occurred to me how much like my vacuum, we suck things in just one little pellet at a time, and often clog the passage way to our own hearts. Very rarely are we drawn into a situation seeing the full extent of how it is going to affect us.
If we saw a large pile of discontent lying in the middle of the room, we would surely recognize it for what it was and turn away. But, the majority of the time, it is just one little pellet at a time. One little negative thought. One little advertising image. One little disagreeable opinion. One little sardonic comment. One little bitter seed.
There is no way for us to not be “sucking” things into our vacuums; our brains have been wired by God to be filled with many little thoughts! It is our responsibility to make sure that the thoughts we are grabbing onto will not clog our hearts.
We have to suck in one little verse. One little prayer. One little worship song. One little decision to forgive. Our brains, like our appliances, deserved to be handled with care. We owe it to ourselves to remain obstructed and sucking things in that will not clog the heart.
Memory Verse:
“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”
– Romans 8:6 (NIV)
Prayer Prompt:
“Father, Guard my mind and lead me down the paths that allow me to think as You think. Allow my thoughts to create in me a heart that loves as You love. Let the love that I show to others be a constant reminder to the world of Your perfect love….”
Contributing Writer:
Jackie Sill
Leave a Reply