Tropical Vacation for the Mind

Day 70 (April 14, 2019)

Hey Lord,

            So, you know how I mentioned needing a little boost for the spirit? Well, sometimes I wish I could just jump into Mario Kart: Double Dash, take on the powers of that coveted Mushroom item, and just speedily zoom past all the mental bombardments of the day. That way I could reach victory that much quicker. (Silly, I know, but that is where my brain goes.) It just gets so mentally tiresome, each day, to face every little—stupid—thing that triggers my OCD. It would be easier if it wasn’t . . . well, everything. Like you name it and it probably triggered me today, Lord. (It was that kind of a day.) But instead of detailing to you all the triggers I dealt with, I would like to share with you what I utilized to battle the bombardment of intrusive thoughts.

            Earlier, I turned on an encore performance of The Masters (golf tournament), super low in the background, and grabbed the coloring book Counselor Z gave me as a gift/therapy tool. It has some of the most intricate and beautiful designs I have ever seen in a coloring book, Lord, and it came with sparkle gel pens because, well, why not!? (Normal pens are just so blasé anyway. Plus, it is fitting since my mom and I always say our favorite color is sparkle.) I continued working on a page, I had started days before, that is filled page border to page border with long sweeping branches and numerous tropical birds. (Boy, oh boy, the page will be bursting with the deep ocean blues, sea foam greens, and bright coral pinks of the tropics before I am through with it!) And you know what happened once I started coloring that page, Lord? My mind—or my OCD to be more exact—turned off.

            It really is a weird thing to be able to say that my mind turned off because normally it is whirling at a tumultuous rate, but it is true, nonetheless. As I was coloring each leaf upon the page, I watched the shimmery ink, from the different gel pens, bleed to the edges of the foliage’s borders. The mesmerizing dance between the movement of my hand and the flow of the ink soothed my mind with its repetitive rhythm. Lord, I was not thinking of a single thing other than these small, satisfying movements. For a while, panic did not exist—only a tranquil state of mind—and that is the truest gift I could ever ask for. And since this tropical illustration is still in progress, I look forward to being enveloped within the peaceful pages of this coloring book, once again, very soon. So, thank you for leading me to Counselor Z, who gifted me this coloring book, because it is a wonderful gift of peace which I will most gladly utilize often, Lord. (Oh, and thank you for the sparkle gel pens too! They are gloriously pretty!) Haha, love you with all my heart, Lord.

Always,

Your Daughter Kaitlan

P.S. Lord, I realize not everyone loves to color, but there are many types of books that people can utilize to help calm their anxiety. So, Lord, I pray that anyone dealing with an anxious mind, has the opportunity to figure out what kind of book helps quiet their intrusive thoughts. Maybe they could find tranquility by listening to the satisfying sound of rhyming couplets found within poetry audio books; or maybe they could create calm by playing the soothing piano notes found within bound sheets of music; or maybe they could find peace through the combination of both poetry and music by reading—and taking to heart—the words within the book of Psalms.

Lord, there are many books out there that will temporarily help quiet our minds, but let us remember, most of all, that within the pages of the Bible, we can read about you—the King of Peace—who can help us with our anxiety day to day but also gift us lasting peace in the future, if only we believe and trust in you. (Plus, I highlight my Bible a ton, Lord. So, if I may be so bold, I just might put it in the realm of a holy coloring book. It is a book to be revered and respected, of course, but I just can’t help highlighting verse after verse—ones that have touched my heart deeply—with vibrant color, and I hope that is okay, Lord!? I hope it is okay that any of us apply that action.) Haha, anyways, thank you for reading my ramblings and my prayer, Lord. You are the best!

Thank you for reading! If you are new, this is a chronological blog series. It is best read in order. CLICK HERE for the intro.