Someone reminded me today that any negative thoughts I am having about myself or situations in which I find myself are the whispers of the adversary. The advice I received was simple - remind myself that negative thoughts are the adversary's way of pulling me away from those things that are good so that I will focus only on shortcomings, weaknesses, and setbacks (whether they be real or created for the purpose of having me feel unworthy). If I can remind myself that those thoughts are not the thoughts God would intend for me to have, then I can put them from my head, realizing that a force outside of myself would take pleasure in knowing that I believed I was a failure and that I was unworthy.
Several things happened today that I had a hard time overcoming. I read some comments about a picture of mine on another blog where posters quite bluntly said I was unattractive, ugly, or both. It hurt me to know that other people felt so meanly about me, and I could feel myself swimming in negativity towards myself afterwards. Then my daughter had a meltdown after school in front of all of the parents and teachers outside and screamed, cried, and tried to argue with me. That was an embarrassing situation, and I was concerned about my daughter's happiness and if I was really seeing the underlying problem afterwards. Then I found out that I was denied for a reduction in my student loan payments. My husband could see that I was becoming overwhelmed, so he pulled me aside and we had a good talk about seeing the adversary's attempts and trying harder to listen for the voice of the holy spirit. He mentioned prayer..... gee, why didn't I think about that??? Really. I prayed with Grace for her to have a good day this morning before school started, we prayed to bless all of our meals, and we prayed before FHE. Why didn't I stop and pray for strength and guidance for myself? Come on, Jacque. Sometimes the best answer is so simple that you easily overlook it.
So it can really be that simple. Pray often, and seek for the voice of the holy spirit over the voice of the adversary. I pray with my children and husband multiple times each day, and I pray alone for the happiness and benefit of others. I need to remember to pray for myself!!
WHat a good word, I myself have left the Adversary speak to me way too much today. In fact I just put up a blog about how worthless and overwhelmed and guilty I feel all the time. I tend to wallow in my self pity too much instead of praying that God will lift me out of the pit I'm letting myself fall into. Thanks for reminding me that we can change our attitude and mentality on things!
ReplyDelete1st off, you're beautiful.
ReplyDelete2nd, now this is easier said than done (I'm still learning)but most of us are moms or have dealt with children in some way. If you can keep yourself from becoming embarrassed when your child is throwing a temper tantrum I find that you handle the situation best. We've all been there.
love you.