Intense Emotions

Grief, like any other intense emotion, is our instructor.  What will we do with those lessons?  At one point in my journey, I asked God if "this cup" could pass from me.  I was in a heart breaking situation.  His answer, "I could not remove the cup from my Son's hand, and I cannot remove it from my daughters.  Linda, your name, like Job, has come up from the Accuser of the Brethren. 

Although my situation did not change, my perspective on it did.  No longer did I feel like a victim.  I saw that I was actually in partnership with God against the power of darkness that was trying to separate me from the Father.

 God is love.  Everything must be received from this vantage point.  This is the heart of God towards us.  We may need an anointing with the eye salve to see the bigger picture of it all. 

It is important to remember that the neuropathways of the brain become hardened in negativity and rebellion.  Not only do neuropathways harden, so do our hearts.  It is easy to write these things as a matter of physiology.  It is another to grasp their implication when we are standing before God with our broken hearts in our hands...asking why?

Keep your communication going with God.  Even if like Job we are on a rampage, keep the communication going.  God can handle it.  When any intense emotion threatens to swallow us up, we have two options: harden or soften.

I see a lot of people with intense emotions.  I consider them to be journey companions.  Sitting in the office, they just cry...apologizing all over the place for crying.  I tell them, "It is OK.  A lot of people cry.  I think this is a good place for crying.  I don't judge that as bad."

One thing that I have learned about grief.  There is no wrong way to do it.  In our culture, we and others are uncomfortable with grief emotions...or any intense emotion.  We put on our smiley face over our broken hearts and try to be all put-together.

Life lessons...the opportunity to experience intense emotion and not become hardened.  God knows all about intense emotions, and He will be glad when our experience is over...no more death, tears, or anything that can hurt us.   Praise God!