The Power of Positive Thinking

I never did like vaccinations. When I was in elementary school in Missouri, the doctor used to come to the school to do a set of vaccinations. They would line us all up in the hallway and march us by the doctor. As each of us kids came to the doctor, a nurse would swab our arms with alcohol, then the doctor would stab us unmercifully in the arm with a 10-inch needle. At least it seemed that big!
I remember working my way slowly to the end of the line. Most of the kids didn't care. They knew they were getting the shot and so they took their place in line and took it like a man. Not me. I would let kid after kid go ahead of me until I was the last one in line. Then the grand master of punishment would stab me with that maniacal laugh of his. Well, my memory may be playing tricks on me...
When I was in my early 20's, I went to a doctor in Omaha for a checkup. I hadn't been to the doctor for anything since I left for college, so I figured it was time. Most of the checkup went fine and there were no problems. Then came the blood test.
The nurse swabbed my arm with alcohol (ah, the memories...) then poked my vein with a needle. I watched with fascination as she drew a vial of blood out of my arm. She pulled the needle out, placed a cotton ball on the stab location, and told me to hold it there. That's the last thing I remember. When I came to, she began questioning me about family history of epilepsy. Nope - that wasn't the problem. I just hate needles. I'm scared to death of them!
It has happened again a few times - I warn the nurses ahead of time, sometimes they listen, sometimes they don't. I had a foreign-looking doctor in Sioux City that didn't listen. His nurse was very unhappy with him!
A few years back I had another physical exam. My doctor noticed I had an enlarged thyroid, so he sent my to the specialist to get it checked out. He felt my thyroid, talked to me a little, then announced he would do a biopsy. The biopsy would require poking a needle into my neck, into the thyroid, and extracting cells from the enlarged area. Not once, but five times! You can imagine how excited I was to hear this news!
As I sat there waiting for the fun to begin, I remembered a verse - Phil. 4:8 "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - think about such things." When the doctor came back to the room, I closed my eyes, and in my mind began singing songs of praise to God. I focused all my attention on His love for me and I sang. The only thing I could think of that fit Phil. 4:8 completely was God, so I focused all my thoughts on Him. I was shocked in a few minutes to hear the doctor say that it was over. I hadn't even noticed!
God's Word told me about the power of positive thinking, and now I had experienced it. Most people think of positive thinking as convincing yourself that you can do something. I learned that positive thinking is focusing your thoughts on the Lord. There is power in that!