Monday, October 20, 2025 The Secret Life of Lynniebee

Have you ever seen the 2013 movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”? Walter Mitty is a single man in his early 40’s living an uneventful life in which he takes few risks. This is what he is on the outside, but his inner life is rich with stories in which he jumps off a bridge to save a dog from a burning building, or in which he is a rugged explorer in arctic regions, or again in which he responds with wit, action, and bravery when he is bullied by his new boss at Life Magazine. This secret life of his causes him to zone out from his real life, as he gets caught up in these fantasies which demonstrate the kind of person he would like to be. Things happen that propel Walter to start living a life of risk-taking and adventure, but no spoilers from me. We’ve watched this movie so many times – it never gets old. Highly recommend!

In a certain sense we all have secret lives, the realm of our thought lives. And what a strange world it can be sometimes. I have been known to zone out with people while entertaining some sort of inner story or conversation. Like Walter Mitty, I also sometimes envision vignettes in which I am helping someone, making myself notable in some way to others, i.e. creating images that we call “delusions of grandeur.” In the secret life of Lynniebee, I am calm, confident and articulate when faced with an adversarial conversation. In the secret life of Lynniebee, I share the gospel easily and effectively with others.

But also in the secret life of Lynniebee, I am prone to creating whole scenarios out of my anxieties and dwelling on them as if they were real. I’ve been known to blow a health issue so far out of proportion that I’ve imagined my own funeral. In the secret life of Lynniebee, I am always justified when I’m angry. My thought life can become like a stampeding herd of dangerous cattle, out of control. What can you do when your inner life has gone wild?

There’s a reason why we are told to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul tells us exactly how to corral these wild beasts and tame them. “Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence or anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on those things.” Philippians 4:8. I have learned to get a lasso out whenever I detect an impending stampede. The first lasso I throw out is always the question “Is it true?” You wouldn’t believe how many wild things I’ve taken captive with that one question. But all those other considerations make good lassos too.

The secret life of Lynniebee isn’t a secret to God. One of my favorite verses is “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” Psalm 139:23-24. He knows me. He knows my heart. He knows my anxious thoughts. And in spite of all that, He loves me enough to root out those things that are hurtful and then lead me in the everlasting way.

Thanks be to God!

I’ll probably pick some banana peppers and delete this in the morning.