Is Something Pulling Your Strings?
Have you ever watched a puppet show and wondered who stood behind the curtain pulling the puppet’s strings? After a while, you get absorbed in the play and stop thinking about who's behind the curtain. If the puppet starts randomly hitting itself in the face and it doesn’t fit the storyline, you might wonder if a few strings got tangled or need to be cut.
Question: What’s pulling your strings?
Through my cancer journey, I know what things can pull my strings. For example, I can read about a cancer treatment that I’m NOT doing, and suddenly I’m awash in anxiety. Maybe I should be doing that? That’s fear pulling my emotional strings. After all, I have a good doctor. I’ve prayed, believing God would lead and guide me. Why am I letting one person’s opinion derail me?
Sometimes, things from our past can pull our strings, too. A childhood fear, or something hurtful said or done to us, can trigger a reaction, even if it happened years ago. I believe in the benefits of inner healing, but I also think too much introspection can be unhealthy. The Lord will always turn our attention to the finished work of the cross, not to ourselves, because it's in Christ we experience true freedom.
When my boys were in grammar school, they waited for the school bus in the neighbor’s driveway. For reasons I didn’t understand, I’d get overly anxious that they’d miss the bus,
“HURRY! Where's your OTHER SHOE? Do you have your BOOKS? Did you BRUSH your TEETH? HURRY! The BUS is C-O-M-I-N-G!!!” I was a mess.
One morning, as I watched them walk to the bus stop, I burst into tears. My behavior was embarrassing, uncalled for. What’s wrong with me, Lord? Why am I like this? All I wanted was to be a good mom. Suddenly, I remembered my own kindergarten story.
The kids in our neighborhood always walked to school together. We didn't have buses. I never missed being on time, but I was terrified I would, and the kids would leave without me. In my mind, that meant walking alone to school, past the neighbor’s giant Great Dane and down the long, shadowy streets. (My mother would never have allowed me to walk to school alone, but in my young mind, the fear felt very real.)
To my surprise, the Holy Spirit gave me a wonderful vision: a knock came at our door.
Jesus had come to walk me to school. He took my little hand, and we walked down the street together, past the giant dog and beyond the shadowy streets. It’s amazing how that buried memory had been pulling my strings and affecting my ability to send my kids off to school peacefully. Miraculously, from that day forward, my mornings changed. We still had our ‘tensions,’ but I was different.
As believers, we're blessed to have the Counselor, the compassionate Holy Spirit. He has good plans for us. He wants us to flourish no matter what we’re dealing with, whether it’s a little one’s fear or a journey through cancer. He knows us. He knows if we need inner healing and what might be pulling our strings in negative ways.
I was shocked by how tightly fear can grip you with cancer, and the struggle not to let it define you.
First, we need to monitor our thoughts. When negative thoughts pull your strings, ask yourself: Where does that thought come from? Fear seeks to disciple us into hopelessness. The Holy Spirit seeks to support, guide, comfort, and disciple us into truth and freedom. Any strings pulling you into fear, anxiety, and hopelessness should be cut in Jesus’ name.
Second, we need to monitor what we listen to. The internet offers endless avenues of information and can cause confusion. Fear thrives on it. Even information from well-meaning friends who tell you their family’s cancer stories, like this one: “My poor sister had stage-four breast cancer like you, and she died in screaming pain.” On what planet is that helpful? It was NOT helpful. That thought pulled my strings for a whole week until I forgave their impropriety and, in Jesus’ name, cut those strings.
Third, we need to hold to our personal journey. Everyone’s story will be different. When someone is battling cancer, maintaining that personal perspective is very important. You are NOT your diagnosis. You are not defined by your past. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says anyone in Christ is transformed into a new creation, leaving the past behind.
We all have strings to clip, some from the past and others from today. God is so faithful. He will show us. We don’t have to dig.
Love you all. Please comment and share this blog with your friends if it has been a blessing.
Thank-you for that. It is very inspiring.