Mind Your Mind to Experience Peace

After months of constant go-go-go, my husband and I needed some alone time to do nothing. No meetings. No phone calls. No schedules. Nothing. And so, we hopped on our Gold Wing motorcycle and headed east. Sunshine warmed us as we wound through the mountains, free and fully alive!

Buying the motorcycle was my idea several years ago. Gene jokingly says it’s my bike and he’s my driver. Some folks wonder why I don’t drive, but that answer’s easy: I’ll hurt someone. I crashed a friend’s motorbike on a neighbor’s front lawn when I was in my teens, and I’ve not recovered from that memory yet. Besides, I love having time to think and pray while we cruise.

I focused on prayer requests

We drove approximately 900 km (550 miles). I spent the bulk of that time praying for our immediate and extended family. I prayed for my readers and for women who will attend upcoming retreats and conferences where I’ll speak. I prayed for God to direct in several new opportunities that have come along, and for the big stuff like world peace.

I focused on praise and thanksgiving

I also praised God for His faithfulness and sovereignty. I thanked Him for the beauty of nature and for opening my eyes to delights I’d miss if riding in a car. Things like a white angel statue placed near a creek in a ditch. A teeny chipmunk scurrying to hide under a berry bush.  A fox darting through the grass in search of prey.

And then my mind veered off course

Occasionally, my thoughts wandered to hidden haunts…

Where worry dwells.

Where past pains reside.

Where fear lingers.

The mental sidetracks happened in a subtle way. No clanging bells warning me, “Hey, there! We’re taking you to a danger zone now!” Just a quiet veering off the preferred pathway into the darkness.

I steered my mind back to a good place

Thankfully, I recognized those mental sidetracks the moment they happened and immediately steered my thoughts back to where they belonged. Back to truth, goodness, light, and life. Back to joy, and back to peace.

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you,” says Isaiah 26:3.

I experienced the truth of these words this weekend. Embrace them for yourself, my friend. Mind your mind today. Keep your thoughts where they belong—on truth, goodness, light, and life—and you’ll experience peace.