Straight from a Mind-Full Heart
By Lisa Elliott

“I’d love to climb inside your mind sometime,” she said. I laughed out loud as I considered what her experience might be like if she did.

I pictured her bouncing from one wall to another trying to keep up with my thoughts as they leap and bound. I cringed thinking about my poor friend getting dizzy in my swirling thoughts or getting lost in my jumbled thoughts. I wondered about her jumping in and out of the ongoing conversations I have with myself. Not to mention being inundated with echoes of rehearsed conversations I’ve had with others, set on rewind.

I wonder if she’d see the complexity of some of my thoughts and ponderings. Would she shake her head at my overthinking, rethinking, and often reliving events in my mind? Would she be surprised by the moments I battle my thoughts of self-defeat, doubt, and second-guessing? I hope she’d be able to overlook my forgetfulness.

Would she see the world through my eyes? Would she need sunglasses to help diffuse the vast array of full-colour activity? And, what about all the empty spaces scattered around my mind kept accessible for mindless daydreaming?

She’d possibly be amazed as I easily pluck a scene from my life that is planted somewhere in the depths of my mind. She may relish my instant recall of a song, melody, or lyric from the repertoire I’ve stored since I was a very young child.

Would she understand me even more than she already does if she was to climb inside my mind and know everything that makes me who I am? Would she still like me if she did?

I envision my friend exploring the creative part of my brain that especially comes to life when prompted and probed, or when a seed is planted there that gives food for thought. She would likely be amused and perhaps even overwhelmed as the floodgates open and not only fill my mind with random thoughts but also pour out of me as quickly and profusely as they entered.

I can picture her being exhausted as I overanalyze in my attempts to make some sense of my thoughts; working and reworking them, thinking and rethinking them, writing and rewriting them. You see, in my mind’s eye, there are always better ways to say or write or communicate things, and most certainly a better way to approach things. Therefore, my mind is under a constant state of revision (just ask my editor about that one). Sometimes I can be my own worst enemy as I continually unravel and piece together my thoughts over and over again. As a matter of fact, sometimes my thoughts should really be kept to myself.

Would my friend see the transformation going on as my mind is constantly being renewed (Rom. 12:2)? Would she see the benefits of meditating on God’s Word day and night (Josh. 1:8) through the windows of my mind? What about all the lessons and rebukes and corrections and training in righteousness that have been bore into my mind throughout my walk with God (2 Tim. 3:16)? Would they all be evident?

I would love it if she could catch a glimpse of how God’s Word comes alive in me, ignites my spirit, and sets my mind on fire until it can no longer be contained. Much like Jeremiah’s experience, “His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jer. 20:9, NIV).

I would be thrilled to know she’s dug deep into the reservoir of impressionable verses, thought-provoking passages, relatable Bible stories, and applicable principles to discover the wealth of eternal treasures I have hidden (Ps. 119:11). And, regardless of my flawed thinking at times, that she’d see how I continually seek to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind and have sought out opportunities to impress them upon my children and grandchildren in accordance with Deuteronomy 6:5-9.

It would be a rich blessing if, while my friend is exploring my mind, she would sit with me for a while and we could be mutually blessed by the streams of living water as they overflow into our lives (Jer. 17:7-8). I pray that she would experience the refreshing, wisdom, and joy that the Word of God has implanted there in my mind (Ps. 19:7-10). Above anything else, my prayer would be that my friend would find Jesus amidst my musings and listen in on how He and I so fondly talk about her.

In her examination of my mind, I trust she would see beyond my thoughts and have a glimpse into the profound thoughts of my Saviour toward her. As the Psalmist declares, “How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand,” (Ps. 139:17-18). Now, that’s something to think about!

Lest someone were to climb inside your mind, here’s some food for thought: fill it with things of the Lord and be ever mind-full of His presence. “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” (Phil. 4:8, NIV).

About this Contributor:

Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, theStory, and Good Ground. She and her pastor-husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Ottawa, ON, Canada.