Women of Faith - Managing Your Emotions

My mother had a lot to manage. As the youngest of her eight children, one of her greatest challenges must have been me. I was apparently a temperamental little thing with big mood swings. What I remember most is a range of feelings that completely preoccupied my internal world. I felt deeply all the time about everything. I felt mad, bad, sad, or glad. Those feelings came often and forcefully. My mothers response was very consistent: when I felt mad, bad or sad, I went straight to my room until I changed my mood to glad, whereupon I could instantly rejoin the huge crowd in the more public areas of our home.

I have to say that was very good experience in learning to control my emotions, but it didnt contribute to my mental health over the long haul. Ive not always wanted, nor been able, to isolate myself until I feel good again.

As an adult, Ive learned to be grateful for a full gamut of emotions. Marilyn Meberg has been a great teacher and friend in this regard. Shes helped me understand Gods design, and how He gave us tender hearts and caring ways of expression. Shes helped me know that splitting off what some consider negative feelings can lead to despair and destruction. We were not made for that.

Through the years, when Marilyn senses my spirit in a downward spiral, far from sending me away, she pursues me. Tell me how you are. How did that feel? How ya doin? All questions Ive heard a thousand times from Marilyn. Then she listens for hours if thats what it takes. And guess what? After those encounters, I feel understood, loved, and guess what? Better. I feel much better than when I isolate myself with my feelings. Usually those encounters end with both Marilyn and me laughing our heads off at something. Its a very healing process. Thats what friends are for.

Staying in community not only helps us feel better, it helps us not act out emotions in negative, destructive ways.

God has created us as emotional beings, capable of a wide range of feelings. Obviously, His desire is that those feelings do not control us. We have ways to keep our feelings in check (so the rest of the world can live with us regardless of how we feel!) God has given us His Spirit to control us, His Word to counsel us, and His People to console and comfort us.

As you work through the studies in these pages, be honest with yourself and your friends. Lean in to your feelings: the good, bad, and ugly. Talk about how you feel and why. Learn from this study Gods perspective on our emotional lives and what He does to help us manage our moods. I think youll find your feelings can be your allies. Theyll take you to the Savior, drive you to His Word, and connect you with your friends. Youll be closer than ever to being all He created you to be.

Mary Graham

As you know, God created us with a broad spectrum of emotional potential. On one end of the spectrum, we experience giggles, gladness, and joy; on the other end, sadness, disappointment, and anger. It is important that we feel all of these emotions, and even express them, but by the same token, we must learn to express them in appropriate ways.

Marilyn Meberg

As children, we learn the ability to read faces. A frowning face means someone is sad. A smiling face means a person is happy. An open mouth and raised eyebrows equal surprise. Red cheeks indicate embarrassment. Eyebrows drawn together show anger. Simple, right? Well, no, not really. Life is a little more complex. Our feelings dont just run in the glad, sad, mad range. There are also feelings of disappointment, fear, depression, loneliness, elation, irritation, awe, eagerness, anticipation, affection, longing, resentment, worry, grief, confusion, compassion, frustration, jealousy, guilt, ambition, pride, desire, nervousness, infatuation, admiration, curiosity, and love, just to name a few. Whats more, our emotions rarely fit into just one of those categories. We usually have mixed emotions, conflicting emotions, or we jump from one to the other in a matter of moments. Moods are a very difficult thing to manage in any womans life!

Most of us live at the mercy of our moods and emotions. When were up, were up, and when were down, were down. We are at war within ourselves, battling our contradicting feelings. We cant control what we feel. We just feel. But God says we are wise if we learn to manage our reactions to people and circumstances and determine how much our emotions will influence our lives. Now, were not here to deal with the really severe emotional disorders. They certainly exist, but we can leave those to the experts. What were going to tackle in this study are the gardenvariety moods and emotions women deal with every day. We all struggle with our tempers. We all know what its like to be jealous, lonely, worried, and overwhelmed. We all battle with rebellious feelings, not wanting to do what God asks of us. Its part of being human. Its part of being a woman. Isnt it nice to know youre not alone?