nothing more than feelings

Christopher and I watched the movie "Inside Out" (Disney Pixar) last week.  I loved the way joy, sadness, anger, and fear were personified!  It made me think about how I handle and process my emotions.  I feel everything deeply, 24/7, and I am very aware of how situations make me feel.  God created us with emotions, but sometimes I wish I didn't have them!

This morning, I was feeling sad and I had no idea why.  My brain went into problem solving mode...how do I fix this?  I can ignore it and hope that it will go away.  I can deny feeling sad and shove it down.  I can pretend that everything is great and nothing is bothering me.  None of those were good options for me, although they seem to work for other people.  I have to process and deal with my feelings.  I became introspective and discovered 2 causes of my sadness.  #1 I still have days that I miss my Grandma terribly.  #2 I feel like my summer is being stolen from me by uveitis and surgery.

I went to my Father God and told Him I was feeling sad and why.  He reminded me that it is ok to grieve, as long as I grieve with the hope of seeing Grandma again in heaven someday, and I know that I will.  God also reminded me of Joel 2:25 which says, "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten..."  If I will only trust Him, God will redeem this time that I see as wasted.

My feelings are real to me, but they aren't always God's truth.  I need to give them to Jesus and continue to fill my heart and my mind with truth from the Bible, then my feelings can be exactly what they are...nothing more than feelings.