What can bats teach us about our thoughts? I know of at least three things, but first I must tell you a true story.
Several years ago, my brother and I spoke at the Missouri Department of Mental Health’s Spring Training Conference at the Lake of the Ozarks. Because we were speakers, we each got rooms for ourselves and our spouses.
The “room” Roy and I garnered was actually a suite with a living room/kitchenette, office alcove next to the bathroom, large bedroom with two queen size beds and a closet large enough to park a small pony in.
It was at the top of hill overlooking the Marina. My brother and sister-in-law got one room with a king-size bed. We thought we got the better deal until we came home that evening after supper and shopping.
It had been a long day and we were tired, so we unpacked and got ready for bed. But, of course, I had to jump on the computer to check email, Facebook, and life in general. I was typing at the desk in the small alcove next to the living room when all of a sudden, something hit the wall beside me with two thuds and fell to the floor.
I screamed and looked down to see what it was. Imagine my total shock as two brown winged creatures zoomed up to the ceiling and darted into the bedroom where Roy had been watching television.
“What are they?” I yelled still on a bit of an adrenalin rush.
“Bats.”
“What?”
“Bats,” he reiterated calmly shutting the bedroom door.
I ran to the living room and called the front desk.
“We have bats in our room,” I said rather accusingly.
“Do you want another room?”
“I want no bats to be in this room.”
“I can send engineering over or I can get you another room.”
“Will they come right over?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
I pondered the options. We were unpacked and ready for bed. It had been a long day. I didn’t want to redress, pack and move again.
“Send them over.”
After the call, I heard my husband talking in the other room. “No, no, this way. Over here. There’s the door. Come on you can do it.”
I was struck by the calmness in his voice. “I am married to the bat whisperer,” I thought.
Two guys came and gently put a towel over the bat they could see and let him go outside. “I don’t like to kill them,” he said. “They eat insects.”
“I don’t like to sleep with them,” I thought.
They searched for the other one, but couldn’t find it. “Bats are really quiet,” the man explained. “They don’t like to go under things. They will find a place like the back of a curtain and just hang out. If I don’t find it, it probably flew out when the door was open.”
He didn’t find it, but I did sleep probably because I made sure I was firmly secure in my husband’s arms.
Before falling asleep I thought of three things bats and our thoughts have in common. Don’t ask me why I correlated the two things. It would take forever to explain how my brain works.
- Bats are silent. They creep in. You don’t even know they’re there. They are just hanging out until the time they want out. It’s the same with our thoughts. They are always there in the back of our minds until something happens to trigger them.
- Bats cause distress. Just the word “bat” causes many people to cringe. It could be because they have this face that looks like it could eat you. They cause quite a commotion when they zoom around the room. They are brown and furry with a wingspan of up to 10 inches. That doesn’t sound large, but just think about a mammal the size of a large bird flying around a room, dive bombing everything, and hitting the walls like speeding bullets. Thoughts are a lot like that swirling around in our heads and causing us distress. They collide with each other and cause confusion, running into our plans and goals.
- Bats react better to calm than chaos. Bats react more to a quiet approach rather than screeching and screaming. Our thoughts are the same. If we approach them with deliberation, they react better than a chaotic approach of is this right or is this right? I have to know right now. And if I do this then what will happen. Or if I don’t what will happen? I could just ignore it all, but then how would that work for me? I have to decide it right now!
For some reason we feel if a thought comes into our minds, it is ours and we have to keep it. However, we can take any thought captive that is not in line with God’s best for us. All we need to do is just make a decision and take that thought captive.
Here’s a way to think about it. Your mind is a place for only positive, uplifting, God-honoring thoughts, an oasis in the midst of a prison filled with negative, demeaning, God-bashing thoughts.
When the batty thoughts enter, kick them out and keep the door shut. That should keep your oasis as a little piece of heaven on earth, filled with beauty and purpose.
“We refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One,” 2 Corinthians 10:5 AMP.
Teresa Shields Parker is a Christian weight loss author, coach, podcaster, and speaker, who has lost 250 pounds and kept it off since 2013. Her books include: “Reconnecting Jayne: Her Sister’s Support,” “Rebuilding Jayne: Her Father’s Protection,” “Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds and Stopped Trying to Earn God’s Favor,” “Sweet Grace Study Guide,” “Sweet Victory: Winning the Battle,” “Sweet Surrender: Breaking Strongholds,” “Sweet Journey to Transformation: Practical Steps to Lose Weight and Live Healthy”, “Sweet Freedom: Losing Weight and Keeping It Off With God’s Help,” “Sweet Freedom Study Guide,” “Sweet Change: True Stories of Transformation,” “Sweet Hunger: Developing an Appetite for God,” and “Sweet Excuses: Stop Lying to Yourself & Start Losing Weight.” She also offers Overcomers Christian Weight Loss Academy and VIP intensive coaching. Don’t miss her weekly podcast, Sweet Grace for Your Journey, where she shares tips from her personal journey of losing weight and discovering healthy living. Contact her at [email protected].