Feeling Our Feelings

The other day I experienced a shame attack.  Have you ever had one of those?

I felt exposed.

I didn’t want to be seen.

“What is up with that?” I asked myself.  Tears came quickly as I wrote about the experience.

I wondered if anyone else has emotions that seemingly come out of nowhere.

After journaling I turned to the Passion Translation to pray like the psalmist in Psalm 3:3 :

“But in the depths of my heart I truly know that you, Yahweh, have become my Shield;  You take me and surround me with yourself. Your glory covers me continually. You lift my head when I bow low in shame.”

Intense emotion can get in the way of our workouts or derail us from healthy eating or sidetrack our efforts to build new habits. It helps to stop, acknowledge the feeling, and probe deeper into our hearts for answers.

You could try using this model: Why did I feel (emotion) when (event)?

 

Understanding why we feel the way we feel or think the way we think is part of our fitness and faith journey.  Intense training can bring out intense emotions.  As we work toward our goals let’s be mindful of the thoughts and emotions that come up along the way.  Let’s acknowledge them, give them to God, and allow them to give us deeper insight into ourselves.  As we pursue health and well-being, acknowledging our feelings puts our feet on the first step of the wellness pyramid. We have to first acknowledge what we feel to share them with others.

 

Let’s Reflect:  What feelings have stopped you in your tracks over the past few weeks? Chose one to work on in your journal. Pray and ponder over why you experienced that emotion. Share your insights with a trusted friend or loved one.

Let’s Pray:  Lord God, thank You for hearing the cries of our hearts. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit bringing these emotions to the surface. Help us to learn and grow and experience healing. You are a Wonderful Counselor! We commit our ups and downs into Your hands. May we use our healing and comfort to help bring healing and comfort to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.