Pathways

{NOTE: I paid very little attention in my Psychology 101 class because it was at 8 am and mostly boring, so not all of this information will be entirely accurate, but it is bits and pieces of what I remember.}


Our brain has pathways. Trails that connect the brain's processes for different things like vision, speech, touch etc. Sometimes, like a hiking trail, these pathways get overgrown with disuse and there are retrieval errors. For example, when I snooping on Facebook I saw the name "Pat Grove" and could not remember who that was, even though I went to school with him for nine years. Those paths haven't been traveled down in years, and so the flowers, bushes and weeds have begun to grow and clutter the path. 


Now idols,  "something that we look to for things that only God can give" (Counterfeit Gods by Keller) are what consume our minds (or mine at least. be honest). Since I (and you too. be honest) am always consumed with thoughts of my idols (i.e. future, husband, career, social standing, etc.) the pathways become much too clear and I am constantly ripping away any undergrowth that is trying to grow. This is bad. Very bad. Because that makes the pathways easier for my brain to travel down. 


So, let some plants grow on the trails of your mind that lead to your idols. I don't know what that is for you. Maybe it's looking in the mirror less, maybe talking to him/her less, maybe checking facebook less. And pray more. Read more. Listen more. And remember, it's not by your effort. 
 Because only God can make plants grow. 
You just have to make sure you don't rip them out. 




also I can't recommend Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller enough. Seriously. It changes your perspective on your own nasty sinful nature.