When Two Constants In Our Life Are Screaming For Attention

Do you ever feel like your body, your pain, is screaming for attention? Rhonda explains how her choice of what to listen to determines her joy.

“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 4:7-9)

I have two constants in my life, both which seem to be screaming for attention. And I’m learning that focusing on one of the constants creates a miserable day, while focusing on the other constant creates a day filled with blessings.

What are these two constants?

1. Pain: chronic pain and headaches that are continuing without pause or letup; unceasing.
2. God’s love and peace: unconditional, faithful; unswerving in love, steadfast; firm in mind or purpose, not changing or varying, persistent.

This past couple of weeks, my headache and pain have been more intense than normal. And when the pain is screaming at me, it gets my attention. Yet, I’m learning that if I allow the pain to get my full attention, my day turns into a miserable day. The more I focus on the pain and how bad it is, the more the pain increases and the worse I feel.
Yet, how do I change my focus from the pain—after all it’s screaming at me!

I have to find something that will “scream even louder!” What screams louder than constant chronic pain? God’s Truth.
God knows that each of us will have days where things will scream at us. Whether it be pain, financial worries, dealing with people, just life in general. Therefore, God provided the perfect “prescription” to muffle one scream and replace it with a more positive and comforting “scream.”

“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 4:7-9)

When I change my focus from the screaming pain to “whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable” . . . the screaming pain begins to change to a dull roar.

Oh, the pain level is still high–it’s just that when my focus is on something so much better, there isn’t much room for the pain thoughts. The less I think about the pain—the more my day improves.

So, there are two constants in my life and I have a choice as to which one gets my attention. If I want to create a positive day then I need to allow God’s truth to scream the loudest!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your constant unconditional love. Direct my thoughts to Your Word and the constant love and peace which You provide. Amen.

About the Author:
Rhonda Sawtelle lives with chronic headaches and pain due to failed back surgery syndrome. Her philosophy is “Create a positive day!” She enjoys football, NASCAR, golf, digital scrapbooking, and reading. To read more about how Rhonda creates a positive day, even while living with pain, visit her blog: http://createapositiveday.blogspot.com.

Which choice will you make today? Which constant in your life will get your attention?

There are so many choices we make each day, and we can decide which one if screaming for attention that we are going to give it. The “Skit Guys” share how we can make the best choices and what to use as our measuring stick.