Generational Thought Patterns…

I was going about my daily business very recently when all of a sudden, my left eye twitched repetitively and it went on for days.  Then my left palm started to itch.  They didn’t happen simultaneously, of course, but all within the same week.  That bothered me but it was more of a nuisance than anything else.

I bring this up because all my life I’ve heard my relatives speak of and believe in all these generational old wives tales and ancestral beliefs had etched themselves into my life until recently.

My dilemma, over the past couple of years, was that I say I believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and our Father God, yet every time some little thing happens, I start to think of the old wives tales and wonder if things will go according to the beliefs that my ancestors passed down to me. “But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness”. (1 Timothy 4:7)

I’m pretty sure this would be a conflict of interest if a person says they believe in God, yet they begin to ponder excessively over something as simple as a twitching eye and give it power over their own destiny.

Just for the record, I am sure there is a reasonable explanation for why your eye would twitch, such as a deficiency of some sort or perhaps your body just needs rest.  Only God knows the reason.

In defense of those who are stuck in that thought pattern, letting that stuff go is a pretty hard task to master when you’ve been groomed to believe these things since childhood because your ancestors believed them.

I know because, throughout my life, I had always struggled with these ideas to a point of fearing the terrible unknown.  I now know that God is not the author of fear, so it cannot possibly be from him. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

I remember when a dear relative of mine would get an itch in her right palm, she would say, “Oh, I’m going to get some money from somewhere”.

Or, when her left eye would twitch, she would say “Somebody’s going to make me mad”.  The right eye twitching would mean “I’m going to be made happy”.

Then, something as simple as a rooster crowing before noon created dreadful fear of some sort of doom.   Oh, how I hated roosters and seeing them stand on a fence.  It was horrid for me as a child!  If that rooster even looked like he was going to crow, I would chase him away.  (Smiling)

After seeing these strong beliefs conjure up fear and seeing weird happenings play out in my families’ lives following these beliefs for so many years, I found myself focusing on them so much that it seemed as though they would reflect some form of negativity in my life.

I think they happened more or less due to so much fear that was conjured up from the imagination.  The mind can trick you into pairing sequences of events together that may not otherwise have any connection at all. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.” ( Proverbs 3:5)

Thankfully, I have chosen my belief in God over those trivial thoughts.  However, I will admit that I am still trying to rid myself of some residuals.  But, currently, the issue is nearing non-existent because I have worked very hard to change my thought patterns and beliefs.  As soon as I begin to think that way due to something out of the ordinary, I say a prayer and ask God to remove those false thoughts from my mind.

I can’t help but wonder if these wives tales were created in an attempt at some kind of generational bondage?

Just something to think about…