Reframing

AM Psalm 37:1-18 • PM Psalm 37:19-42
Isa. 7:1-9 • 2 Thess. 2:1-12 • Luke 22:1-13

There is a richness to Psalm 37 that I find compelling. The words of wisdom are timeless. Be still, wait patiently, don’t compare yourself to others, don’t fret and worry, refrain from anger and wrath. I think as Christians we are called to emulate these practices…and, for me, they are definitely practices. I have to practice a lot! I have found that regular prayer and meditation help. However, often in day to day life, I get in a hurry, too attached to achieving a particular goal. When something or someone pops up that thwarts my progress, it is all too easy to react with frustration, impatience and anger rather than slowing down, pausing, re-centering.

There is a psychological technique, cognitive reframing, that consists of identifying and then changing the way we view our situations, emotions, experiences, etc. Cognitive reframing requires that we be still enough to step back and look with an open and calm mind at that which is causing a disturbance for us, at our emotions and thoughts about it. This is similar to what my mother always called looking for those “blessings in disguise”. Things aren’t always what they seem to be at first blush; look for the gift, the kernel of wisdom, buried within the problem.This requires faith and a fair amount of optimism. This practice leads me to joy.

Finding joy in everything that life sends my way is probably a goal too lofty for me. But cultivating mindfulness and looking for God’s hand in whatever comes my way is something that I can aspire to. As the Psalmist says in chapter 37:23-24: “Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand.”

Written by Deborah Griffin

...who loves the season of Advent.