Have you ever been stuck in “stinking thinking” (or what my Southern roots would call, “stankin’ thankin’)? You know that kind of thinking that is negative, whiny, and just can’t see anything good in life? Sadly, I must confess to falling into this pattern a time or two (or one thousand), and I remember being stuck in it for almost a year after our second child was born. It was not pretty, and I praise the Lord I still have a husband (who likes me) after that ugly period (“ugly” is a word my Southern upbringing uses to describe unpleasant behavior). 

During that time, I was physically exhausted, overwhelmed by my parenting and ministry responsibilities, and homesick. What’s worse is I thought I had to bear the burden on my own. So instead of reaching out for help, I sulked, which then led me to despise those around me, especially my husband and co-workers, for not seeing my struggles. My thoughts were solely focused on the negative aspects of my life, and I couldn’t get out of that destructive thought pattern. I was not a joy to be around, let me tell you!  

Then I had some desperately needed alone time with God. I was eager to change, to bring a sense of contentment and joy in my life that had been missing. The Holy Spirit used Scripture to convict me (Philippians 2:14-15 and 4:8), and I knew it was time to stop sulking, work out my salvation, and allow the truths of my faith to infiltrate my thoughts and attitudes. I needed to see the goodness of God in the land of the living. 

It was a slow process to retrain my brain from habitually thinking negatively about my circumstances to recognizing God’s goodness in them. My heart filled up as I found joy in my salvation and shifted my focus to eternal things. Looking beyond the temporal lifted my head out of the stinking thinking fog and helped me see God’s goodness displayed in creation, my family, and ministry. Now when my mind starts to sulk in my circumstances, I stop and look for God’s goodness.