Whatever is True and Lovely

Have you ever read Philippians 4:8? It says, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.”

When I was a kid, I frequently had nightmares. So often, in fact, that I used to dread falling asleep. Sometime in high school I memorized Philippians 4:8 and used to say it over and over again in my head before going to sleep, with the intention of directing my thoughts away from frightening imaginings and onto things that were lovely and true. It helped a lot but it’s amazing how persistent frightening thoughts can be. Challenging them with better thoughts is a hard battle! It seemed the frightening thoughts only needed the tiniest pause between lovely thoughts, to sneak in and take root. 

I don’t have nightmares nearly as often as I used to and I’m thankful for that! But I do have to be aware of what thoughts I’m allowing myself to dwell on. I can’t keep fearful or anxious thoughts from popping up but I can actively meet them with “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely.” 

This week, one little paint stroke at a time, I’m making progress on my painting goal—trying to finish a number of new story paintings before Christmas. As always, I’m battling intimidating thoughts. As I look at sketches that have yet to become paintings I feel like I’m looking at a mountain that’s pretty daunting. And that’s where the battle has to begin.

What is true? It’s true that I can put in some hours today toward my goal. And it’s true that at the end of those hours, I’ll be farther along than I was a few hours before. It’s both lovely and true that God has given me what I need for this moment and He’ll give me what I need to accomplish whatever He has for me today. It’s true and lovely and astonishingly praiseworthy that if I were to sit here in my little green library all day long and accomplish absolutely nothing, God would love me just as much as if I’d made great progress. I’m thankful for that too. And curiously, it does motivate me to move.

~Amy