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You Can Thrive Emotionally – Part 1

By on July 21, 2013
woman with arms up

By Poppy Smith –

Be Alert to Your Emotions

When Regina Brett of Ohio turned 90 years old, she looked back over the years and wrote a list of 45 lessons life had taught her.  Here are seven of them:

  • Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
  • Your job won’t take care of you when you’re sick.  Your friends and FAMILY will. Stay in      touch.
  • You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
  • Make peace with your past so it won’t mess up the present.
  • If a relationship has to be a secret, ask yourself: what am I doing in it?
  • Frame every seeming disaster with these words, “In five years, will this matter?”
  • No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

Emotions are powerful.  They can make us so excited and happy we go crazy and dance with joy, clap our hands, yell, and hug everyone in sight. But they can also bring devastating pain, overwhelming our minds with a tsunami of discouragement, depression, and even thoughts of suicide.

Be Honest with Yourself

Taking care of our emotional health means not burying or minimizing our feelings. We are human beings who are affected by life circumstances and for the sake of our well-being we must pay attention to what’s going on inside us. Especially when our feelings are strong and relentless.

Learn from Scripture

In several psalms, David tells God how miserable he is. He wasn’t ashamed to acknowledge things weren’t always wonderful in his life. He talked about being in distress, his eyes weak with sorrow, his life consumed by anguish. He cried out to God asking how long before he had relief, but he also asked himself some important questions.

In Psalm 42:5-6, David does an emotional health check-up. He looked inward, asking the Lord to give him insight. Seeking answers, he asked, “What’s the matter with me? Why am I so upset?

Have you ever asked yourself similar questions when you’re gripped by   discouragement?  Or asked God to show you why you’re crying? Or why you lost your temper—again?  Have you ever thought and prayed about what’s prompting your emotions?  These are important questions to ask yourself, especially when you recognize that your emotional reactions are out of proportion to the situation.

Becoming emotionally healthy takes honesty, and courage. Hiding from what is going on in us only leads to more distress.

Is there something troubling you?  How might David’s honesty help you be honest with yourself and God?

Blessings,

Originally posted on: Poppy Smith Inspiring Women to Thrive.

 

The above graphic was purchased from Dreamstime and is used with permission © Andreykr | Dreamstime.com.

About Poppy Smith

Born in England to a non-believing family, Poppy grew up there and in Sri Lanka, Singapore and Kenya. She met her American husband in Nairobi and they soon moved to the United States. The adjustment to her new marriage and new country, combined with loneliness and the loss of all that was familiar, brought Poppy to a defining moment with God. The resulting change, from anger to acceptance, from fighting God to seeking Him, led her into a life-long love of Scripture and the One it reveals. Her website: http://www.poppysmith.com/.

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You Can Thrive Emotionally – Part 1