Feelings....woah, woah, woah Feelings.....

There is a song from the seventies with these words....  Just had to sing in text form.  Look it up on you tube if you can't quite place it.  The song refers to trying to forget feelings but I don't want to forget mine.  I want to remember them with the same intensity that I found them initially.  This is life and we are created as emotional beings for a reason.  I embrace that part of me but yet I also have the wisdom to keep it in check.

AND I'm still thinking about Joyce Meyer's quote.  It bothers me.  She is a wise woman but I don't like how she worded this one.

 The more you follow your feelings, the stronger they will become. Make the decision today to say "yes" to God and "no" to feelings.

I think our feelings have great value.  I feel like one of our big problems is that we tend to ignore them. If we don't take time to feel, or we don't acknowledge our feelings then we can't properly heal.  Too often we push them to the side and don't deal with them.  Then they become volatile and could come out at any moment in a completely dysfunctional way.   And the more we ignore them, the more they intensify and fester below the surface which is far more dangerous than taking time to really ~feel~ them.  When we allow ourselves this simple luxury, we heal more appropriately and waaaaay more quickly !!!

In fact, this past week I learned that unresolved feelings lead to a longer recovery time when grieving.  No doubt this is true in my own life.  I made this mistake far too long.  I'm learning how much better I feel when I get these things out of my system.  The relief is almost immediate.

Of course it takes the proper channeling.  I can't just fly off the handle or burst into tears out in public.  That could do some extra damage that I definitely don't need to deal with.  And maybe that's where Joyce was going with this.  Maybe she actually means that we should not dwell on our feelings - but deal with them.  Realize they are simply feelings - which are often temporary - and know that our brains will kick in at some point.  By saying yes to God in this area, I suppose she means we go to Him with our emotions.  Give them away to Him.  Let Him heal us.  He is truly the only one who can handle them.