Poison Or Fruit?

“Words kill, words give life; 

They’re either poison or fruit – you choose.”

Proverbs 18 v 21 (The Message)

Powerful statement.

If I were to give you the choice between ingesting poison or fruit, you’d (hopefully) pick fruit. Rarely in our right minds do we set out to intentionally sabotage our own wellbeing. Yet, often, on a daily basis, we unknowingly allow the deathly taste of poison to creep into our hearts and minds.

As I’ve grown older I’ve realised the childish rhyme sang in innocent youth, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me,” is only partially true. Nasty names, labels, harsh words, negative reports, gossip and slander all act like poison to our soul. So much so that according to the above scripture, such words can kill. They kill dreams, passions, hopes and desires, destroy relationships and etch away at our identity and self-worth.

There is good news though. The right words can also breed life. In the film, “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”, there is a powerful scene in which Gandalf the White Wizard draws out an evil curse that has been placed on King Theoden. The curse, cast by the evil Lord Saruman, has turned the king into an incoherent, disengaged and weary shadow of his former self. In this particular scene, the king sits on his throne looking tired and dishevelled. His aptly named ill-advisor and co-conspirator to Saruman, Grima Wormtongue, crouches by his side and whispers into his ear before speaking on his behalf. Gandalf the great wizard approaches the throne, directs his staff towards Theoden and rebukes the evil Saruman out of the disillusioned king. As Gandalf speaks life and power back into the king he begins to gradually return to his original and correct self. A life which had once withered is now revitalised. Watch the scene here:

https://youtu.be/ckq-4Y6a87s

(Video found on YouTube to help illustrate this post, it is published by TheLordoftheRings Fans, any associated views not my own)

This scene paints a beautiful picture for me of the reality of  Proverbs 18 v 21. The whispers we allow into our soul are of utmost importance. Sometimes like the king, poison has been spoken to us or over us and it’s taken root in our hearts and manifested in our lives. It’s been allowed to help structure the belief we hold of ourselves and others and has tainted the way in which we see the world and our future in it. Maybe careless and ill-intended words have for too long invaded your inner space? Maybe you can still hear the disappointing tone, the angry word or the spiteful insult when you attempt to move forward? If this is true, I’m sorry. Maybe you’ve read magazines, newspapers, blogs and social media posts that have spread negative reports or unkind words. Perhaps gossip is ringing in your ears. Whatever misinformation springs to mind as you digest this post, there is hope, a way to combat the impact of this poison. Freedom is available. As Gandalf came to rescue King Theoden, so God came to rescue us. Some wounds may be years deep and seem impossible to repair, but God’s promise to us is that His word is, “living and active, and sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;” (Hebrews 4 v 12) His truth offers us a powerful antidote which is able to set us free from that which has held us captive. It can reach even the darkest caverns of our soul.

John tells us in scripture that Jesus is the Word of God (John 1 v 1) and Jesus Himself declares that He is, “The Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14 v 6). He is the greatest antidote to any poison trying to kidnap our beliefs which in turn dictate our actions. He is our Redeemer, our Saviour, our Healer. He is able to gently and lovingly draw out any poison residing within us.  The more we inject His good news into our hearts, the more healing can take place and His restoration begin to invigorate that which was once withered.  

Choice is also a powerful force and a beacon of hope offered in Proverbs 18 v 21. Daily we can choose life. Choose Jesus. Choose the good news. Choose grace. We must choose to profess it and to listen to it for the responsibility and the stakes are high, for ourselves and others. I once heard it said that our power to choose is like catching a ball. Many words and opinions will be thrown at us but we get to choose those we catch and those we let drop. So let’s catch truth, catch wisdom and drop poison.

As we start our week let’s assess what words we are listening to about ourselves, our careers, our bosses, spouses, family or circumstances. What are we allowing to be spoken over us by others or by the things that we watch, read and listen to? Are they poison or fruit? Do they inspire life or bring death? Do we profess faith or fear? Do we listen to hate or love, gossip or grace? We can’t change the past but we can create the future and choose what foundation to build it on. What will you choose?

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”

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One Of ‘Those’ Days

Do you ever have one of ‘those’ days? Or even one of ‘those’ weeks where everything all seems just a little too much? Often, it’s not major life-changing events that cause the frustration and anxiety that go along with such times. Instead, it’s a culmination of lots of small annoying occurrences that gradually pile up and cause niggling unwelcome emotions. These then snowball into an avalanche of feeling somewhat out of control.

Sometimes, things just don’t go according to plan and we feel like we’ve got out of bed on the wrong side. We wish we could hit replay, start the day all over again and give it another shot. We then get stuck in a deep well of self-pity and struggle to see an easy way out. Have you noticed how negative emotions and feeling sorry for oneself are strange social companions that love to hang around together? Not content with just each others company, they also invite memories of failure and sad stories along to the gathering. Then before we know it, we’re moping around, dragging our feet and ready to snap at anyone who dares smile at us. Like the last guest to leave a party who misses the ‘*yawn, oh is that the time?’ hint, these emotions linger beyond their welcome.

Well, I’ve had one of those weeks recently. Nothing terrible happened. In fact, many good things occurred, but I realised that it was the perceived lack of progress on my self-imposed to-do list that was the cause of my irritation and stress. Basically, I was increasingly frustrated that things didn’t seem to be going the way I had anticipated or envisioned. So, after engaging in some internal ‘woe is me’ dialogue, and whilst my fifteen-month-old daughter clung to my arm and nestled her snot covered face into my nice clean clothes for the umpteenth time, I finally prayed, ‘God help me at this moment!’ Suddenly, before my eyes, a huge bright vision appeared before me, a host of majestic angels with fiery red eyes, strong glimmering wings and sparkling silver Doc Martens descended through the ceiling. They were carrying a pile of completed laundry, some delicious galaxy caramel and a beautifully written blog post – jokes! Not really! Hey, I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, God is the God of the impossible after all! But, what actually happened was that I decided to stop moping around, realised that I couldn’t just snap out it, pushed aside my sense of entitlement and employed some practices that positioned me to engage with His peace.

In keeping with the current trend of list writing in some of my blog posts, here are some things I do/have done when things don’t seem to go my way in my every day, and it all becomes a little overwhelming:

• Take Time Out – Whether that’s a literal removal of oneself from a situation, or just a deep breath and a moment in a different room, I take at least a second to close my eyes and be still. I say a prayer, inhale and try and zoom out of the downward spiral of pity to re-align my focus.
• Accept It! – Most of the time, continued frustration occurs due to the fact that I keep dwelling on the to-do list rather than just accept that the goal posts have changed and so, therefore, I must adjust accordingly.
• Choose Joy – It’s been said many times that we can’t choose our circumstances but we can choose how we respond. I can’t always control what’s happening but I can choose what I think about.
• Encourage Myself – Proverbs 18 v 21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death”. I speak life into my present and future using the truth of God’s word which exists beyond the boundaries of my physical reality. A truth that is living and active (Hebrews 4 v 12) and refreshes my soul like the dawn of spring.
• Talk To Someone Who Loves Me – Fortunately for me, this time around, my husband was around to notice my grumpy mood and help lift me out of it. Talking to someone who loves me enough to allow me a ‘moment’ but also pushes me out of it, is a perfect tonic for a stinky attitude.
• Change My Perspective – Perspective changes everything! Looking at something from a different angle can completely change how you view it. My wise, (don’t tell him) and lovely husband, loves a bit of Mathematics, and once shared a perfectly simple example of this – a cone from directly underneath can look like just a flat circle, it’s only when you change your perspective that you see it’s actually a three-dimensional shape.
• Do Something That Inspires Me  – This isn’t always easy to do in the moment, but at the first available opportunity, I find something that ‘fills up my bucket’ (as my friend Rach would say). Something that draws me forwards and brightens my eyes. It could be as simple as reading a book, listening to some music, having a conversation, watching a video or strolling in nature.
• Live In The Moment – It is what it is, and what it is, is what it is. When things don’t go according to my plan, I just have to decide to be flexible and present rather than dwell on the past or lament a future that’s not yet happened. Why is it, that when we’re in a bad mood, we start to make believe fake conversations and events that all seem to go from bad to worse?! What a waste of good imagination and energy. Living in the moment helps me to think clearly, see it for what it is, accept it, problem solve and maybe even enjoy something in it!
• Practice Patience And Perseverance – We all want more patience, but the tricky thing about that, is that it’s developed in situations that require it! The same is true of perseverance. Both require practice and both again require a choice to participate in them. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, so I pray and allow Him to take centre stage. Perseverance requires a courage and strength that His grace always bestows.

So there you have it. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, I mean, chocolate sometimes helps too! I’ll leave you with a beautiful scripture that has a far better list than mine and kind of sums it all up plus some. More importantly, it provides a perfect pathway to peace.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Philippians 4 v 4 – 9