Deep Thoughts from "The Secret Garden"

The kids and I recently finished reading The Secret Garden.  The following is quoted from the last chapter.  Emphasis added by me.

"In each century since the beginning of the world wonderful things have been discovered.  In the last century more amazing things were found out than in any century before.  In this new century hundreds of things still more astounding will be brought to light.  At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done-then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago. 

"One of the new things people began to find out in the last century was that thoughts-just mere thoughts-are as powerful as electric batteries-as good for one as sunlight is, or as bad for one as poison.  To let a sad thought or a bad one get into your mind is as dangerous as letting a scarlet-fever germ get into your body.  If you let it stay there after it has got in you may never get over it as long as you live.

"..surprising things can happen to anyone who, when a disagreeable or discouraged thought comes into his mind, just has the sense to remember in time and push it out by putting in an agreeable determinedly courageous one.  Two things cannot be in one place.

"...there was a man wandering about certain far-away beautiful places...who for ten years had kept his mind filled with dark and heartbroken thinking.  He had not been courageous; he had never tried to put any other thoughts in the place of the dark ones."

As I've applied the 12 Steps of the Addiction Recovery Program in my life, one of the most important things I've learned is that Faith and Fear cannot coexist.  They cannot occupy the same space.  And that's exactly what I thought of when I read this section from The Secret Garden.

Every day I have to choose to be courageous and replace negative, fearful thoughts with positive, faithful thoughts.

No matter what craziness is going on around me, I can find peace in the faith and knowledge that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me.  He loves me, he knows me, he knows my struggles, he knows what I need to learn, and he knows how best to succor me.

Fear and worry are nothing but unproductive, dark, heartbroken, poisonous wastes of energy.
Faith leads me forward.