Fidget Fingers

I’ve lost my ability to just BE whether I’m waiting for the ding of the microwave, waiting to join a meeting, or waiting at the doctor’s office, my hands immediately reach for my phone and inevitably what comes next is the dreaded Doom Scroll.

I justify it, it’s fall and I need new yummy pastry recipes, or Christmas is only 99 days so I want to see what’s trending for 2026. It feels benign on the surface but it’s a slippery slope. The Reels I see are curated highlights of someone else’s life, filled with description links telling me what I "MUST HAVE." When I finally emerge from the fog of pinned stories and endless links, I don’t feel love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, the fruit of the Spirit found in Gal 5:22-23. Generally my soul is filled with discontentment, comparison and a long list of what I don’t have and what I NEED to make me happy.

In Philippians 4 the apostle Paul urges us to guard ourselves against getting sucked into that exact rip current of discontentment. “for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11b-13

Where God is leading us in our everyday lives is toward a restrained heart ground in His grace, anchored in Him, not a Reel or a FaceBook post.

How do we make that change and reflect God in our daily routines, it takes time and practice, we weren't born this way. Paul gives us the roadmap:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:4-9.

Paul shares the formula, rejoice and build the muscle of contentment regardless of outward circumstances. Give thanks, because a grateful heart is a joyful heart. In return the Lord guards our hearts and minds, freeing us from the comparison that plagues us. If Paul lived in our modern digital age, he might say: Open that app, measure what you see against what is honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and if it doesn’t align, shift your focus back to Jesus and he will restore that spirit of contentment in your everyday.

Save the Date: PCC Women’s Retreat

If you can relate to fidget fingers and doom-scrolling tendencies, you are not alone! I invite you to join us later this fall for a refreshing weekend of worship, prayer, fellowship, and practical teaching:

• As the PCC women’s ministry presents: A Spirit of Contentment: In the Ordinary & Everyday, a women’s retreat weekend

• When: Friday evening, November 6th & Saturday, November 7th

• Keynote Speaker: Colleen Lacey

Block out your calendar now more details and registration information are coming soon!

If you haven’t heard it today YOU are loved and You matter to God.

-Elizabeth Castillo