"Sneaked," "Snook," "Snuck?"

“Sneaked,” “Snook,” “Snuck?” Okay, really? Somebody please help me with the past tense of “Sneak!” Oh, wait a minute, Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary gave me some guidance. Looks like I actually have a couple options of the inflected forms of “Sneak.” According to them it can be “Sneaked,” or “Snuck.” I’ve always hated trying to say the past tense of “sneak.” Either way, it never sounds right to me. Anyhoo... a few days ago, something "sneaked" up on me and took me by surprise. It was that emotion called “hurt.” Isn’t it strange how it has a way of doing that? You can be having an otherwise really nice day, when BAM, out of nowhere it hits you like a ton of bricks and knocks you off your feet. Whether a thought, a painful memory, or just a momentary feeling of hopelessness, it can really wipe you out.

I was riding along in my car, on a peaceful day, running my errands, when a sad thought about my present circumstances invaded my brain before I had the chance to vet it. And before I knew it, my whole demeanor was changing, threatening to ruin my day. But, luckily I was participating in a Fast, the oddest kind of Fast I’ve ever been apart of. I’d heard about it on TV while flipping through the channels one evening. A tele-evangelist, whose name I cannot even remember now, was promoting a 40 Day Fast From Negative Thinking. What? I thought. My initial reaction was- “Oh, no, I can’t do that, my life is presently filled with too much pain for me to promise I wouldn’t entertain a negative thought.” I couldn’t promise that for the next few hours, let alone for the next 40 days.

But as I thought more about it, I recognized that this was something I needed to do, so I decided to give it a try. In fact, as the first few days went by I began to see how this exercise tied into a previous message God had given me. Loud and clear His message came to me- “in order for you to get beyond this place of pain to a life of joy and fulfillment, you will have to adopt a whole new way of thinking.” I was intimidated by it, but from that moment on I knew I would have to go from thoughts like “I’m defeated, my life is over,” to “I can live victoriously;” from “I’m unlovable,” to “I’m fully loved by God;” from “life will never be good again,” to “God has great plans for me,” from “I’m worthless” to “I’m valuable,” and they’d have to be more than just words. They’d have to be beliefs engrafted into my being.” Truly intimidated by the task, this Fast was the exercise I needed to help me change my thought patterns.

But wait, before I tell you how this fast helped me that day "hurt" sneaked up on me, let me tell you that when I started the Fast, I gave myself one specific rule. While I would choose to not entertain negative thoughts, I did not have to ignore reality. If my life was sad that day, it was sad. If it was painful, then it was painful, and I didn’t have to pretend that it wasn’t. But what I did have to do was determine to not let my reality bring me to a negative, defeated, state of mind. I could acknowledge the sadness, be with the sadness, feel the sadness, but then, make a decided effort to move on.

And so I did that day. When 'hurt" tapped me on the shoulder and darn near jumped in my lap to drive me anywhere he wanted to take me that day, I said “no!” Sure, I cried some and rode with him a little bit, acknowledging that this is my reality and that it hurts, but then, with what little strength I had, decided I would not stay there and let hurt lead me into negative, self-berating thoughts. I was taking the wheel back. I whispered a prayer, recognized a good thing about the day (primarily that I was still alive and in good health) and went on about my day.

Why do I tell you all of this? Because, life’s pain has a way of trying to bog us down and trap us in the mud, threatening to hold us in its grasp forever. But don’t let it. We all hurt at varying degrees and some of us hurt so badly that it seems like we’ll never be okay again. Trust me, I know the feeling. But what we’re going through doesn’t have to be the end of our story. We can move forward, and to do that, we have a role to play. We have to muster up whatever strength we have left and begin to think better thoughts. It’s not easy, I know, but we have to have a plan to deal with the waves of pain that come. It doesn’t have to be a 40 Day Fast From Negative thinking, but, do something. Acknowledge the pain, feel it, call it by name if you must, but don’t succumb to it, think a better thought. Try what Paul admonished the Phillipians- “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” [Phillipians 4:8, NIV]

Your life is not over yet. God still has plans for you. And in order for you to reach His plans you have to make it through this present situation. And in order for you to make it through this situation, you have to take the reins of your thoughts and with what little strength you have left, sneak up on "'hurt" and turn the tables. Turn those negative thoughts into positive ones... one thought at a time.

Love and Peace Always,

Stephanie

Text Phillipians 4:8
Songs- Waging War- CeCe Winans
Encourage Yourself- Donald Lawrence

Copyright 2010 Stephanie Whitley unless otherwise sourced. All Rights Reserved. Use allowed by express written permission only.