As I listen to the rain pouring down I am reminded of all the feelings that have been raining on my parade. Sadness, frustration, hurt, jealousy, stagnant, loss, regret, overlooked, replaced -- just to name a few.
We have all felt these feelings at some point in our lives. I just happen to be feeling all of them right now. Most people have learned to come out of the rain, I tend to stay outside and get soaked. Too often my actions are dependent on how I am feeling. At least this keeps life interesting, I never know if I will be up or down.
Here are some things I am learning out here in the rain.
I can’t always control the thoughts that come or the feelings that show up uninvited, but I can always control how I act. This isn’t to say that I do, but the possibility intrigues me.
Don’t act how you feel, act how you want to feel. We must act ahead of our feelings and eventually our feelings will catch up.
Most importantly I’ve learned this, we are all struggling one way or the other. There are those that hold dearly to the hope that someday they can break free from the thoughts and feelings that hold them down. That finally they can act according to who they truly are. Until that day comes we need love, understanding and friends that will lift us up and help convince us there are sunnier days ahead.
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments
12 comments:
I like what you say about acting how we want to feel. I find that, in my life, this is very true. And as you choose to act as you know you really want or act in a way that is right, those thoughts and feelings that have weighed us down fade. We can have power over them. ~ Angela Orme
Amen! I'm reminded of a book that really helped me change the way I think and react to feelings of depression and despair. My sister-in-law gave it to me at a real low time in my life, when I never knew from one moment to the next whether I would be up or down. It is called "Feeling Good" by Dr. David Burns and it really taught me to stop those feelings and thoughts in their tracks and choose to think differently, more positively. We sometimes distort reality, which promotes these feelings of despair. When in reality, life is pretty darn great! We really can live on the sunny side of life if we choose to. Read the book!
Dear One,
I know exactly how you feel! I've been there, done that, so many times I thought I would never see the sunshine some days. But a wonderful thing has happened to me. It is a long story so I won't go into it the details except to say I have been "born again". It all hinged on praying for, receiving and accepting charity; the pure love of Christ.
Now I can follow some very good advice given to me in a talk at a funeral of a dear old friend; words he lived by. "Life is not about waiting out the storm, but dancing in the rain". I can now dance instead of just wait. I can also sing.
i have a friend fresh out of prison who after 1/2 his life spent there wants to become his better self. it is so difficult when the world around him especially his family do not see all the good that is in him screaming to get out. he wants to work but no one will see him, all they see is he has been in prison. yet he knows i have faith in him and know the goodness that is in him that he wants others to see. please pray for him that the eyes of the world and the hearts of the worl will open up to him to help him become the person he wants to become. he is a non-member who is going to church with me and we plan to be married soon. he grew up in a world that was ugly and cared not for him and he is struggling so hard to overcome and become the child of god he was meant to be.
Currently I am struggling. It is only the second week of school and somebod broke into my child's locker and stole her cell phone, proceeding to spend three glorious days texting, downloading and who know what else, to their hearts content. Without regard to how much it would cost, or who they were hurting.
I feel my family has been violated by wretched low-life thugs! I have had trouble sleeping and have nightmares when I do. In my heart of hearts I want something truly terrible to happen to these people. Something as wretched as they are!
I know these feelings are wrong and I know I should choose to dispel them, but they are so ever constant and horrific and I find myself in a very dark place with regard to these people.
The day after it happened, I read a quote at Scriptures.com by Marion D. Hanks pertaining to forgivness and humility. I know at some point I need to get there, but the hurt is still very real and the emotions are tough to crack.
Where do I go from here?
For this too shall pass...
Tough times make tough people.. those who harm us shall answer to what they have done to a much higher law than what is here. That alone brings me comfort. We all are on a journey, we go through things to see how we will fare. Somedays it does seem hard to forgive, but if we do not then we end up in a downward spiral, my dear daughter has been taken in by a unsavory human being. He to is on a journey.. maybe the best thing I can do is forgive him and pray that she wakes up and see's the light. I mean what can we do to change anything accept pray and continue to have faith? Times ahead are going to get much tougher han we see at the moment, we must get ourselves together and reach out to those in need.. it isn't just about us it is about all of us. Even those who do evil. After all they are our brothers and sisters. We all came from the same Father in Heaven. "God grant me to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."
Man, I loved all the comments here because they show that I am not the only one feeling tired sometimes. I loved the love of the person who has the friend who came out of prison. I can only imagine how difficult it is for him. I would go to another country and start over there, but I am not sure how difficult that would be. But think of the possibilities of one day be a member of the church in a place like Brazil where people love more easily.
I came from there and I know how a friend of mine who was nobody here went there and teaches English (very easy for an American to do) and he does not want to come back. He has a wife and kids and now speaks Portuguese so well you cannot tell he is American. There are ways to turn around the tide of people who want you to fail. Youd don't have to go to Brazil but you may have to start something instead of waiting for someone who did not start anything to hire you. You can move up and you should not give up.
Maybe I will check the book the guy suggested here. More often than not I am in the rain. I need to escape from seeing the world so negatively. I am tired lately. I hate the tatoos, the earrings, the pride, the sensuality, that is all over people nowadays. I hate this world with passion and I should love it. I know there are so many wonderful things out there to be seen and I myself am so blessed, I should be the happiest person on earth but my eyes are looking for that which is dark and it makes me feel sad. Maybe that book will help me. I have glimpses of the beautiful things that soround me and that are part of my life, but I often turn around and concentrate on negative, sad, and depressing things.
There was some comfort in knowing that some people achieved that state of constant happiness. It makes me feel like it is possible. In my mind it seems impossible but here we are looking for a miracle. Maybe nothing is impossible. Maybe I can wake up tomorrow and dance in my own rain and see the light sparkling in the rain drops as they fall upon my head.
To forgive jerks like the one who stole the cell phone is not easy. My daughter got a phone stolen too and a little diary she kept that was so dear to her and of no use to the jerk that got it. They make me tired of this world. I too wish them dead. It is hard not to. So, I have been trying to concentrate on the thought that I cannot make the sun shine, and I cannot make anything grow, and I don't give anybody anything because nothing is really mine, so no one owes ME to be good and deserve my forgiveness. I am nothing to forgive anyone. The job of forgiveness belongs to God and so does the job of condemning. If I had any jursisdiction among mankind, and if I were a ruller or a God, then I think I would be entitled to go on and not only wish them dead but cause them to go away and let us be happy. But I am not so it is a waste of time and dignity to pretend to be God and condemn the stupid jerks that still things from our kids or cause us harm directly. It is a waste of time and it is pathetic. We cannot change what was done. Here we are these little things crawling upon the earth thinking we are so big and so much better than the thief. Well, we all know we have that thing we don't do, and that we too frustrate others sometimes, and that we did this and that which we should not have done, don't we? Let the one who does not have sin cast the first stone. I do that all the time, but I do have sin.
I hope this helps and not make anyone for frustrated. I just loved this entry because I needed it so much.
Hey Dan.. love your blog. When you gonna start writing a book? It seems to be something you'd be good at. I can see a "Bestseller" comin. Get goin on that, huh.
Today I needed this more than anyone else could know. I woke up in the rain but right now am working on getting myself inside. I know it'll happen as long as I perservere. It's amazing how sharing a little thought can do so much for so many others. Thank you!
When I was dealing with depression, a therapist told me that not only do our feelings influence our actions, but out actions influence our feelings. This was a nice little reminder.
I am going to share your statment to my daughter who has so much rain she think she is droening thank you so much for sharing this my save her life, thanks and God bless
That is so true! Sometimes it is really hard to get over the feelings we have inside and make the feeling we want show. I think that is just another part of our plan here on Earth. We need to go through trials and that will be one of them but we can always pull through with the Lord's help.
Post a Comment