Tag: anger

Your Mind is a Treasure Chest

Jennifred Jones

What treasures are you keeping in your treasure chest? Your mental treasure chest?

Are they something valuable and helpful to you. Will these treasures be something you want to pass on to your children and future generations?

We lived in a century old brick house while the kids grew up. In the attic, the former owners left an old trunk…filled with treasures from days of yore. No expensive treasures, mostly vintage picture albums and pictures of people no one knew or remembered. Was kind of sad in a way…forgotten memories that no one was interested in anymore.

Sometimes we might need to or want to do a mental refresh, a housecleaning of sorts. Seeing what’s in our mind’s attic or basement that’s no longer benefitting us…might need to be tossed or given away. Old habits, old responsibilities no longer yours to deal with, old resentments, anger, jealousies to be removed. Get that treasure chest cleaned out so new sparkly treasures can be stored there…thankfulness, good memories, forgiveness, happy times, new friendships and adventures…things you want to savor and pass on.

Nothing wrong with the treasure chest, it may be old, but it’s still good. Just needs to be revamped with better treasures.

Venture into the attic of your mind. Look at the treasures stored. Make some good decisions and move ahead.

I Can’t…

Jennifred Jones

Saturday morning at the ice-rink a boy about 7 years old kept falling down.

The instructor would help him up and he’d fall again. When she got him up he only wanted to hold on to her. He didn’t want to try to stand or skate alone.

I could see the look on his face. Total frustration, almost red-faced anger at his young age. The instructor would help him time and time again – even getting down on the ice and showing him how to position his feet and legs so he could get up by himself like all the other young skaters were. Everyone was falling down and eventually getting back up all by themselves. This little boy was not really trying. He’d look like he tried to get up and then fall again and squirm until someone came to ‘help’ him. The instructors were looking back and forth at each other wondering how many times to ‘help’ him – when he would not help himself. He was not incapable – just not-capable because of his thinking. Somewhere along the way, he had given in to the ‘I can’t’ mentality. I imagine it was more than just on the ice.

The reason I could see it so clearly is that had been me at different times in my life…Algebra and math. I just ‘couldn’t‘ (I thought). Or meeting new people. I was too shy (unwilling to step out of my security box). I put off learning computers for years – thinking it was a passing fad. ‘I can’t‘ trying to rule me again.

Many times, teachers have learned…allow the student to struggle until they are hungry enough to learn. Then they will.

Back to the boy on the ice. He wasn’t ready to learn. Not yet. Give him a little more time, or maybe find something else he is interested in. Don’t nurture the ‘I can’t’.

In our mind, if we will remove the ‘t‘, it will spell, ‘I can‘. The first step is begin to recognize all our ‘I can’ts’

Where can I begin today?

‘People Pain’

Jennifred Jones

Of all the types of pain in the world, it seems the worst one to endure and the hardest one to deal with is people-pain.

This morning at work a man came into the office so angry about something, that I wasn’t sure what was on his mind. I greeted him with kind words and then he, without saying a word or changing his expression, threw his paperwork over the counter at me and turned and left. I told him thank you and wished him a good day, just as I would anyone else coming in the office.

A gentle answer turns away wrath.

For him, this is normal behavior. He seems not to know joy, peace, kindness and that saddens me. He must be holding onto pain and bitterness from something long ago.

The thought came to me while eating lunch, ‘People have to free themselves of their pain.’ Whether they take it out on someone else or themselves, they have a need to rid themselves of their pain. Of course the ways many people try to do this doesn’t give genuine relief; it may just be enough to keep the pressure cooker from exploding inside them.

I thought, ‘God did not create His creation to endure pain and suffering…especially emotional pain and what I now call ‘people-pain’…pain caused through relationships with others.

Yes, we will have to endure people-pain and all sorts of emotional pain and suffering while we live on this planet; however, God did not intend us to bear it alone.

God provided a way to get rid of the burden of pain and suffering caused in our relationships with others. We have to take it all to Jesus. He says, “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately andcares about you watchfully.” I Peter 5:7 AMP.

We have to give it up; give the people causing pain up; say to God, “I can’t take it any longer! You deal with it for me.’

He is there to help you in your time of trouble.

Jesus is our pain killer. He bore it so we didn’t have to. We will have many, many pains and cares, troubles and worries every day, and His shoulders are big enough to handle them all!

Every single pain!!!

God didn’t make you to bear the pain. He said, “I will.” But you have to give it to Him first. You have to know He cares and that you can take it all to Jesus and He won’t make fun of you for coming, or chastise you for not being strong on your own. He says, “Come to Me.”

I’m praying for that man to take it to Jesus so he can be free. Yes it is his choice, but I am still praying for him to make that good choice.

How do you handle your ‘people-pain’?