Feelings
The idea of perfection can trap us into believing that feelings should not be discussed or felt. In some denominations, there is a belief that feelings should be stuffed deep inside and never dealt with. Feelings are not right or wrong. They are just an expression of us and how we relate to our lives. We can’t heal a wound by saying it’s not there. In the same way, we can’t heal ourselves by pretending that we aren’t sad, that we aren’t angry, that we aren’t afraid, that we aren’t lonely or that we don’t feel rejected or abandoned. . . These are all feelings. Experiences we face in life can cause pain. Until we face these things we will have difficulties in our life. We may blow up at people, overeat or restrict, feel insecure, isolate ourselves or delve into addictions. To be healthy we need to realize that it’s okay to feel things. We might get angry, Jesus did. We might be afraid, depressed or anxious. Allowing ourselves to embrace these feelings is important. We can’t begin to heal until we untangle the mess inside of us. Our feelings are part of us just like the clothing we are wearing is. We need to be okay embracing these things. God created us to be feeling individuals. When we refuse to face our emotions we end up getting ourselves in trouble. We blow up at people become critical of others, become inflexible, become controlling or lack understanding. We cannot be healthy people if we choose to deny our feelings. We become like a volcano that erupts and leaves devastation. We can't heal ourselves by denying our feelings. We must start facing our issues, our emotions, our pain, our habits, our poor patterns of behavior, our heartaches and our hang-ups. When we begin to do this then we begin to find freedom, peace, and happiness. Then we can take these things to God and ask Him to help us. It is then that He begins to remove the weeds in our lives and He brings wholeness back into our lives. May we all become healthy people who have freedom and peace. This is the life God wants all of us to have.