FINDING YOUR MIND AFTER LOSING IT

I received this in an e-mail and thought it was interesting enough to post today...I hope you enjoy it.
Many years ago, at Texas Tech University, I was in a class that was discussing child rearing tactics. I do not remember much about the class, but I do remember the advice of one successful mother. Her children were grown, and she had returned to school to improve her lot in life. She said she had an approach - especially for her smallest children when they were throwing fits - that really worked. She would approach the child with a switch behind her back and say, "Child, you done lost your mind and I am going to help you find it." A few seconds later the child would be in his or her right mind again. The appearance of the switch was an instant sanity-finder.

To a large degree, we are only as crazy as we can afford to be. Stories have been told of mental wards that have caught fire. Suddenly, everyone became much more sane. We go from the petty to the essential by crisis. It looks like we are about to have an opportunity to do that on a grand scale. "Global warming" has suddenly taken a back seat to the economy. Petty lawsuits have retreated to the back pages, while stories of job losses and suicides have made the headlines. It is time to wake up and get very sane!

"God disciplines those He loves!" That is a good phrase to remember. God helps us get our little minds back, especially when we are throwing petty social tantrums over who gets what materially. A volcano, fire, earthquake, or hurricane can sure change your focus - and rather suddenly. People band together in a severe crisis. We thicken our skin and drop our personal agendas, then we help people dig out from under the rubble of what was once their lives.

Through these decades of mateial indulgence, I have often heard old timers say, "What we really need is a good depression." They have reference to the strength of character that difficulties bring. We get our minds back when we cannot afford to be petty.

There is no telling what may happen today. If it is a crisis of some sort, I am going to remind myself that God may be helping me find my better mind.
by Dale Andrews