Chapter 8 – When is My Mind Normal?

A few years back when my husband left for his second tour of duty in Iraq, I described my life to a close friend as, “This is my new normal.” I meant that this is the way things are now and they seem sane to me even though they might seem strange to you. And the saying stuck.

Normal can/could change and I would adjust – multiple times. You might not want to experience what I am experiencing, but I have no choice. This is normal to me. And I cannot conceive of it differently. I don’t wish to dwell on what it could be. I just have to accept what it is.

After reading this chapter, I have to wonder if my mind has ever been normal.

A normal mind is not busy. It is at rest. It is not empty. It is alert and receptive, but it is at rest.

I often lament that my mind never stops. It is never right here. It is always a million miles away working on something. And it is so easily distracted. And I insist that it must multitask. The world tells us that we must be busy – in mind and body.

The normal mind is at rest and receptive to the spirit – The Holy Spirit. They work together. The Holy Spirit knows God’s mind and speaks it to us, but we must be at rest, alert and receptive to receive the revelation for God speaks in a still small voice.

If our mind is always busy and distracted and thinking and analyzing and judging and being suspicious, we cannot possibly hear the still small voice. No matter how much we wish to gain the Spirits revelation, He will have to pass us by because there is no room for Him in the chaos.

My mind is abnormal. God blessed me with a good mind, an intelligent mind, a creative mind, but I have filled it full of mess and clutter and I desperately need to clean house, one step at a time.

The author speaks about praying with the spirit and with the mind and how balance is best. Praying with the spirit is praying in an unknown tongue. Praying in the mind is praying in your own language. And there needs to be a connection in order to receive understanding. I cannot even conceive of this even though I often ask for the Holy Spirit to speak in my place for He knows best.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)