Color me...

I was a little blue the other day. Literally. My boys and I were coloring eggs for Easter, and as I was helping them, I barely touched the blue dye with one finger for about half of a second, and it stained my finger for two days. TWO DAYS! Less than one second of contact with the dye left it's mark for 48 hours. I was amazed that something so seemingly insignificant could leave such a powerful reminder of what I had been doing.

Here's the part where I started thinking...because that's my thing. I like to analyze and overthink everything. Maybe somewhere I could be accused of being an educator, but I look for the "teachable moments" in the mundane things of life. I didn't necessarily gain anything extraordinary right away. In fact, it was later on that I made the connection.

Several days after the "Blue Dye Incident," as I've come to call it--I can be a bit dramatic at times--I read an editorial about songs that get in your head and stay there for days and days. Suddenly, all the synapses fired, and the connection was made.

You see, with some songs, it only takes hearing a split-second or a fraction of the song to bring the whole song to mind, if you know the song. In some situations, you only get to hear a snippet of the music, and suddenly that's all you hear in your mind's ear for the next two days! The same type of thing can happen with movie quotes. To this day, if anyone uses the word "Inconceivable," I am immediately transported to the land of Giants, Men in black masks, and Miracle Max, and can very clearly hear Inigo Montoya saying to Vezzini: "You keep using that word...I do not think it means what you think it means..." (Rent "The Princess Bride" if you don't get it.)

My point is this. Little things can stick with you, and can have an effect on you. Even if it is almost imperceptible, there is a change that takes place, and it doesn't take long. A catchy musical hook or clever movie line need only to be heard one time to change your memories and stay with you forever. Blue dye can leave it's mark for two days with the tiniest amount of contact. The things we allow to pass before our eyes and through our ears will have an effect on us whether we want to admit it or not. Therefore, it makes sense that we need to examine what we purposefully allow to cross the barriers of our senses, and make sure we are not putting things there that will pull us in a negative, downward direction.

Some argue that these things won't have any effect on them, and that's it's just my opinion. To me, that's like saying, "I don't believe that bus will have any effect on me" as you step in front of the oncoming Greyhound. At some point there will be a collision of your beliefs and reality. I just hope it's not as messy as the bus thing.

We cannot control every single thing that comes into our perception. But, when we do have the choice, we should be aware that it will affect us, and so we should wisely determine what we allow to entertain us. Your mind is yours, and the decisions you make are ultimately yours. Each of us has the responsibility to recognize what things affect us more than others and make our selections based on who we were created to be, and whether or not what we allowing into our minds and hearts will encourage that, or make it more difficult to be the person that pleases God.