Catch & Release

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

As a family we've not been sleeping well. It's as though we've contracted some rare form of collective insomnia. Unlike the common cold, which after infecting your home can be traced back to that one kid you should've never held and kissed at church, our restlessness does not seem to have a singular cause. However, while causality may differ, the symptoms are the same: as soon as our weary heads it our pillows thoughts begin to plague our minds like ants at a picnic.

For me, it starts innocently enough, perhaps thinking over the events of the day or planning tomorrow's meals, and then, before I know it, I'm lamenting how quickly my children are growing up, worrying about college tuition, fretting over making healthy meals, stressing about that family that's struggling at church, replaying conversations in my head to check whether I should've said what I said and promising myself whatever I got wrong today, I will fix tomorrow. The mental wrestling match soon manifests itself physically with tossing and turning and culminates in surrender as I either lay awake and follow the rabbit trail of thoughts or get up, make coffee and tackle another Sudoku. 

"I can't keep going like this," was the statement uttered recently by my husband that broke the silence of a another sleepy breakfast. It was met with nods from the rest of the family and an agreement that something, perhaps things, needed to change.

We began with the usual suspects and it did help. We:

• Set the AC lower upstairs and cooled off our rooms before bed.
• Put all electronics away and turned off the tv. We went back to our habit of reading before bed.
• Made the switch to decaf tea instead of coffee at night. Apple cinnamon is my absolute favorite.
• Plan to add a little evening yoga to our night time wind down routine and I'm sure it will prove beneficial.

As I said, all of the aforementioned changes have helped (or will), but as I examined all the remedies we were implementing, it became glaringly obvious that we'd missed a crucial component of a good night's sleep. Namely, we were not being intentional about putting our minds at ease and seeking the only peace that would provide the rest we so desperately sought.

They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. 1 Peter 3:11

Okay, so peace doesn't just happen. I have to pursue it. But, how do I "pursue peace?" Where do I look? You're probably not surprised to know God's Word has an answer for that as well.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3

It comes full circle and comes right back around to my thoughts. No matter how cold and quiet my room is, or how much calming tea I consume, if I don't prayerfully redirect my thoughts, the peace I so desire will remain allusive. 

I don't know about you, but I cannot prevent worrying or anxious thoughts from entering my mind, especially at night when there are no distractions. But as I look closer at the above verse from 2 Corinthians, I notice God is not asking me to do the impossible. He is asking me to trust Him to do that. I don't need to prevent myself from having thoughts that threaten my peaceful rest, I simply need to notice them, "capture" them and release them to God. It turns out God's plan for peace is a catch and release system. Not surprising I suppose as Jesus chose fishermen to spread the Gospel. 

So, how do we capture thoughts and release them to God? Redirection. As soon as the anxious thought enters my mind, rather than making a futile attempt to ignore it, I first acknowledge it's there. Then, I pray about it and ask God to take control of the thought, situation, worry or problem, and refocus my mind on God's promises, Word and past faithfulness. I remind myself of all the ways God has proven Himself trustworthy in the past, the promises in His Word and the fact that He has a never failed me. As my former pastor liked to muse, God has a perfect track record and He's not going to blow it on me. Often, for me, it is helpful to write these things down in a sort of letter or written prayer before my head ever hits the pillow. 

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Luke 12:25

Not only does worry not add to our life, it actually takes from our life, often in the form of robbing us of a goodnight's sleep. Let us then, not surrender to anxiety and worry, but rather to the only One who can truly add to our life in the form of peace, calm and yes, rest. Let's capture our negative, unproductive, disruptive thoughts and release them into the only hands capable of transforming and renewing our mind. 

So, let's drink our tea, cuddle up under our covers and let our Heavenly Father soothe our worried minds and give us the rest we desire. 

Sleep well, dear friend.