Personal Pronouns

Detail from Good.

It's so easy to get focused on ourselves, isn't it? At least half of my thoughts start with "I..." or "My..." Probably more like three-fourths of my thoughts!

I've been very aware of all of my "I..." thoughts lately. I've even been listening to the lyrics of Christian music, mulling over "I..." statements. (There are lots of them!) I'm much more comfortable with lyrics like "You are worthy" than "I will serve You." Not that it's wrong to say "I will serve You!" I've just been struck by how very much my thoughts/our thoughts as humans are self-oriented.

Even my thoughts that supposedly aren't focused on ME often turn out to be so. We went through a time of frustration with our six-year-old recently. She was being extremely snippy and uncooperative. I found myself feeling VERY frustrated... by my lack of success in changing her behavior! I realized this when I exclaimed to my husband, "I just wish I could DO something!"

Hmmmmmm...

Then on my walk this morning, while I was listening to one of those songs that made me think about pronouns, I remembered my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Albrecht. She taught me the difference between subject pronouns and object pronouns. All you have to do is insert he or him for I or me. If he sounds right, use I. If him sounds right, use me. So "It's from my dad and ___" becomes "It's from my dad and him." Then you can correctly place me in the sentence, knowing it's right to say "It's from my dad and me."

What does all this mulling tell me about God? Because really, it's all about Him, right? It's not about whether my daughter cooperates or not. It's not about whether I can change her behavior. It's not about whether my elbow has healed enough to kayak or bicycle. It's not about the sadness I feel at losing a friend or family member. It's certainly not about knowing subject pronouns from object pronouns.

It's about God. God's plan. God's will. I pray he helps me keep that focus instead of getting distracted by all the "me" thoughts in my head!