The Furnace Filter

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows                                                                          Matthew 10: 29-31

Yes, it is an odd name for the blog today. The topic came up in a session with a client where I was explaining the Intentional Positive Self Talk (IPST for short) homework. Intentional Positive Self Talk, if you recall, is an exercise I ask clients to do at the end of the day- maybe right before nodding off to sleep. The object is to identify two or three behaviors from the day that you felt good about. Little decisions that were good for you or someone else that indicated a good decision, however small.

Hence, the furnace filter. My client was having a hard time coming up with things she did during the day because they never quite measured up to what she would consider a good decision worthy of recall at the end of the day. It was never quite enough for her. That is when I gave her an example from my own life.

I had on my “to do” list to change the furnace filter. I did that this morning because it was on my list, and I wanted it off the list. I wanted it to be completed. So, it may have taken me two minutes or thereabouts to do it. Clearly it was a small thing. But since it had been on my list, and I completed it, it qualified as an item for IPST. Yes, something that small can be a bigger thing if it checks a bigger box that just a “chore”. It became a promise I kept- a promise to myself, however small.

I used this illustration for my client because it was such a little deal- but it meant more in the larger picture. So, dear readers, what might your “furnace filter” story be?

Prayer: Lord, we know even the small things in our life are important to you. Thank you, Amen