Pondering – Chiara Talluto

I’ll be honest, I enjoy shoveling the snow. I don’t like driving in it, but shoveling, yes! My therapy. It’s that central focus on removing snow from a designated area. It’s about making shoveled lines and looking at “your” clearing with joy.

Most importantly, it’s the pure bliss of concentration and “being in the moment” experience where I don’t have to think about my worries, other tasks, and uncertainties that often try to crowd my thoughts.

Colossians 3: 2 – “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Shoveling allows me to be present and not bring in negative thoughts. I know it’s not for everyone, but chores in itself can be calming. If your mind is fogged today, let this also be a reminder…

Philippians: 4: 6 – “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

I hope this encourages you as it does for me. Stick to the task at hand and give the rest away. This post has been inspired by the song, “Keep Me In the Moment” by Jeremy Camp. Watch video here.

“The world is not how you see it; it’s how God sees it.”

My seven-year-old drew this picture for me today. When I asked her what this meant she had this to say…(some paraphrasing included):

“This is how God created the world: with beautiful flowers and the cross to remind us of His son, Jesus. Our world is in trouble, Mommy. There are people fighting each other and people saying mean things to one another. Nobody likes America anymore. I don’t think God likes that, so he gave us hurricanes, so we can learn to be nice to each other again.”

My reaction. “Oh, okay. Great observation…Nice job! It looks real pretty. Is this a specific place?”

“No. It’s just a cemetery.”

“Ah, why a cemetery?”

“Because it is beautiful too, even if there are dead people. But, especially if it is filled with flowers.”

And then, I asked where all the “living” people were in the picture?

“I don’t know. Gone, I guess. I have no people.”

“Hmm…Wouldn’t it be okay to have people in the picture?”

“No. People ruin the earth.”

So, my child drew a beautiful picture, one that she believes God envisioned, but with so much division and fighting in our world lately, there probably won’t be any more “decent” people left.

I’m reminded of a quote from one of my favorite Rocky movies. This one was from Rocky IV (1985):

It’s toward the end. Rocky just beat Drago, the Russian boxer. Throughout the fight the crowd is booing Rocky, but when he beats Drago, they get on his side and begin chanting his name. This is what Rocky has to say about that…

“During this fight, I’ve seen a lot of changing, in the way you feel about me, and in the way I feel about you. In here, there were two guys killing each other, but I guess that’s better than twenty million. I guess what I’m trying to say, is that if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!”

So, on this Friday and on every day going forward, let’s do something for someone else. A change of heart, a change of mind, and a change of attitude starts within each of us.

#FridayFeeling, #RockyIV, #TakenfromASevenYearold, #Outofmouthsofbabes, #writing, #ponderinglife, #Changebeginswithyou

Tag: Pondering

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The World View from a Child

“The world is not how you see it; it’s how God sees it.”

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