ZPCBlog

About the author: Greg Rankin is in his final year as a Deacon and will become an elder in January. Greg has been married to his wife Dinah for 28 years and they have two children: Hadley, who just graduated from IU and is currently a first grade teaching assistant and planning for grad school next fall, and Benjamin who is a freshman at the University of Cincinnati and is loving his time there with new friends.  

This week's scripture: Isaiah 2:1-5

I have lived with untreated ADHD for my entire life, and so I have no perspective on how the minds of those without it work. I assume they are quieter, or at least can be. One odd symptom of my type of ADHD is that I can block out the world and focus on a project, such as painting, for long periods of time, though the rest of the time my mind is bouncing all around, generally from problem to problem.

Painting does calm my mind, and while finding time for it is rare, when I do paint, it is nearly always of peaceful landscapes, probably reflecting the peace that my mind and soul crave. As we look at Isaiah 2:1-5 this week, we read about God’s promises for a future of incredible peace with him and with one another. While it is clear in this passage that there will be challenging work for us to complete, we will do it with tools for building up rather than those for tearing down. This future time and God’s promises can seem so far from us right now, much like the mountains in the painting below from a trip out west with my family.  Like these mountains, our view of God’s mountain will at times be obscured even as we draw closer. 

One way that we can clear away whatever is blocking our view, is to spend daily time with the Lord. This daily time is important but is a practice that has come and gone during periods of my walk with the Lord. With ADHD, this type of quiet time can be extremely challenging, and so it is important for me to have a routine. 

In the morning, after making some coffee (decaf!), I like to put on some quieter contemporary worship music with lyrics that reflect talking directly with God. Next, I read a short passage of scripture, which more often than not, is something from the Psalms. Hopefully, as we have studied the Psalms, you have seen how so many of them are either praising God or talking very openly or honestly with him about our troubles and concerns. From their titles, you can generally find a Psalm that fits almost any mood or situation.    

Finally, I try to finish with a few minutes in prayer. Since I have a wandering mind, I find it is best for me to have a prayer list so that I can focus on one item for a moment and then be prompted to move to the next. Of course, remember to put praise and confession on the list as those are essential, and yet easy to overlook.   

With this start to Advent, I pray that each of you will take Jerry’s 40 day challenge to heart and will find God as you go to meet him on the mountain. May this time with the Lord be an oasis in your day, settling your mind and restoring your soul, and may it become a part of your day that you crave and that you continue to seek out for years to come. 

Share