Feelings

Let's talk about feelings a little bit. You know, those things that lead us to get married, make and break friendships, yell, smile, laugh, cry. The thing I hear most often is that we cannot or maybe even should not control our feelings. How many times have we heard about someone divorcing because they "fell out of love" and "fell into love" with someone else? I do not question the power of emotions. They can bring great pleasure but they can also bring great pain and when left to run rampant in our lives without the leading of the Holy Spirit, they control us, leading to heartache and pain.
Two good examples from my day today...
1. We were getting reading to go to the library to get some books for the little ones. Suddenly a pitcher fell off the top of the fridge, shattering ACROSS the kitchen, spreading with it my breakfast drink. Chocolate drink was dripping from one end of the kitchen to the other and into the laundry room and mixed in with it were little shards of glass. Great! My heart wanted to scream out in anger. I had to corral the little ones and figure out the best way to clean up the mess. I paused, I took a deep breath and I prayed for control - I got it. The little ones played peacefully until the mess was gone and off we went to the library.
Example #2 - One of my little ones has been having a tough time lately. Not obeying, talking back, stealing toys, not able to share, screaming when not getting his/her way. After the trip to the library, several things occurred in succession involving each one of the three older children being naughty. I had to get up from nursing and discipline one, I had to take library books away.... just little things that kept building up against my nerves. I was FEELING frustrated. Then the one who has been struggling lately acted out, threw a fit and topped it off with telling me NO is a rather forceful way. I disciplined this child in anger. I was ANGRY and I DESERVED to be. I was RIGHT.
There was no pause, no deep breath. No seeking of the Holy Spirit. Did the child learn a lesson? Sure, but not the right one. This child learned that when we get mad, it is okay to yell. Isn't that what this little one was getting in trouble for in the first place?
Too often people run with the emotion of the moment and then are left to deal with the repercussion down the road.
It is not just angry type emotions that can get us into trouble. Imagine that you are having fun doing an activity but there are things to be done (like working or cooking a meal to eat) if you decide to follow the good emotion and continue doing what "feels" good, you could very well lose your job and have nothing to eat! People get a lot of joy from buying things, but if you continue to pursue this activity without thought, you will soon find yourself deep in debt.
Whether the emotion is negative or positive, God desires us to control them. He knows that we are easily moved by our emotions and He has given us the powerful Holy Spirit to help us!
Imagine what the world would be like if we would all pause when we were on the brink (or in the middle of) experiencing deep emotions and asked the Holy Spirit to guide us. I am sure there would be a lot less heartache all around!