Vortex

A vortex is a spinning, often turbulent, flow of fluid. The spinning action forms a cavity or vacuum in it's center and draws objects into the action. One definition in Webster's is- something that resembles a whirlpool "the hellish ~ of battle - Time ". My mind grasps the whirlpool concept. But my heart knows the vortex experience caused by a "hellish battle of time."
Our minds, wills, and emotions can be drawn into a vortex when: we believe we have plenty of good years left but our employer retires us ten years too early: our desk is pregnant with bills, our bank account is barren of funds; the white picket fence we erect around a precious relationship has turned into a stone wall between us and the other party; the child we birthed and nursed wouldn't take a glass of milk from us if we were the last person on earth; the loving heart of someone we cherish has turned into a vinegar soaked sponge. When we allow the "hellish battle of time" to continue, destruction is inevitable. Everything we think, feel, and act on emerges from the vortex, the whirlpool. When the whirlpool is a cesspool we become toxic. Objects engulfed in this kind of whirlpool wind up a stinking mess. Stinking thinking produces stinking living. Only we can make the choice not to get sucked up in this flurry of activity. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says that we can demolish strongholds, arguments, and pretensions against God by taking our thoughts captive and obedient to Christ. This is the only warfare tactic that will keep us close and clean.