A blessing, not a bother

I had certain impressions of Michelle from 30 years of brushing past each other at church-related events. I thought her godly, kind, discrete, and private. I also thought she was not particularly interested in getting to know me. This is because her rare verbal communications were short and utilitarian. But there was something I did not know.

Last time I saw Michelle she told me about good Christian counseling she had received that shed light on her mind’s mechanics in a way she previously had not realized. With a little probing into her past and judicious questioning about the present, the discerning counselor helped Michelle to see that for much of her life she had labored under an identity as a “bother.” Bingo! Michelle resonated at once. Yes, if you could put Michelle’s self-image in a phrase, it would have been: “I’m a bother.”

The thing about thinking of yourself as “a bother” is that it will affect not just some things but everything. You will keep your conversations short because you do not think that people want to spend time talking to you. You will prepare dinners for your adult children but not sit down to talk with them over the meal. You will not phone people because you will assume they have more important things to do than chat with you.

The counselor helped Michelle see that her belief about herself was wrong. In fact, it was not only wrong but it was a demonic stronghold by which Satan was pleased to keep her from her full potential for the kingdom of God. The counselor reminded Michelle that she has no less than the Spirit of God in her, and that as a matter of fact, she has much of value to say and share. Michelle began to align her view of herself with the Truth, with the view that God has of her: “I am a blessing,” not “I am a bother.”

My hair stylist friend Barbara once had pain in her hip that threw off her whole body. A wise chiropractor performed a tiny adjustment to her ankle, and it fixed her hip and made everything better. As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is. Make your mind right, and your life will be right. Make your mind the playground of the Enemy, and he will hinder your whole life.

“Be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2).