Blowing the brain clouds away

Have you ever had one of those days/weeks/years where your brain seems cloudy? Where you aren't exactly unhappy, but you aren't really happy? The life fulfillment gauge is on empty and you feel like you are just running on a hamster wheel not really sure where it is leading you? Sometimes the answer to finding peace and understanding is simple but we are aren't willing to see it.

There is a story in the old testament about a king named Naaman. Naaman was a good king, he was good to his people and well loved. He was also a cunning strategist who won wars, but Naaman had a big problem, he was a leper. This troubled him day and night, not only physically but also mentally. There was a young maid who worked for Naaman's wife who told him of a prophet named Elisha that could heal him of his leprosy. Naaman, at this point, willing to try anything, gets on his horse with his servants rides to see Elisha. When he gets there Elisha doesn't even come out to see Naaman personally. Instead he sends a messenger to tell him what to do for a cure. The cure is a simple one, to go and wash himself in the river Jordan seven times. Simple right? Well, this angers Naaman, first because Elisha doesn't even tell him the cure himself, he sends a messenger. Naaman is a king for pete's sake! Doesn't that deserve the actual prophet telling him?! Secondly, this so called cure is too simple. He was willing to do so much more to be cured. That was what he was expecting, something big, something that would be worthy of a king's cure. Why was it so simple?? This seemed too simple to even work. And third, the river Jordan was dirty and disgusting. Why in the world would the prophet Elisha say to wash himself in a dirty river? He doesn't want to do it. He is angry and ready to give up and go home, but because he was a loved king his servants talk to him. They tell him that if the prophet Elisha had told him to do something great he would have had no issue in doing it and yet he only needs to do this simple thing to be healed. So at his servants insistence, he goes to the river Jordan and washes in it seven times and on the seventh washing as he comes out of the water his skin is completely cured. At this point all of his pride disappears and he praises God.

I love this story because it's full of simple answers that solved the problem, once the king decided to see them. So what are the simple answers in our lives? Maybe if we took time to humble ourselves and open our hearts, we will see that the answers to our healing could be much simpler than we ever thought they would be. Are we really willing to try ANYTHING? How about giving up social media for a week? How about going to bed on time? How about eating healthier? How about taking a walk with a loved one? How about deciding to not listen to that mean voice in your head that tells you that you are a failure and instead listening to the right voice, the one that tells you that you are a good person, that you are trying?

The sun is always shining but sometimes it is impossible to see it because of the clouds covering it. Naaman was healed when he took away the clouds of stubbornness and pride in how he wanted his healing to be. The answer may seem simple to us but unless we are willing to listen and really try ANYTHING, even the stuff that may seem stupid or not worth our time, healing can't happen. What is your answer?? Don't be afraid to try it. Blow those brain clouds away and let the sun shine through.

Much love,

Becky