(no subject)
You know...everytime I open my underwear drawer, I feel happy. I have such bright, happy underwear! Blue, green, purple, fuschia, yellow, RED! I love my red underwear. Now...don't get any ideas...they aren't frilly or lacy or covered in sequins and feather boa stuff...they're just good ol' cotton. But they're bright RED! And they make me happy! What do I have to complain about anyway? My life is...great! I should have absolutely no complaints. Whenever I feel low or depressed I usually scold myself. I don't have a right to be unhappy. I am so incredibly blessed! I'm blessed with wonderful people. I'm blessed with a healthy body (with the exception of a cold now and then). I'm blessed with the ability to grow in knowledge. I'm so thankful for knowledge and being able to learn more and more everyday. I'm glad I will never know everything.
So...should I never feel sad? It seems that pain is necessary for everyone. With pain we learn and grow. (Inspiration from a discussion with Ellen in painting today) I just can't help but feel bad whenever I feel sorrow or sadness. I think of all the people who really have things to be sad about and that places my petty little problems in a different pathetic category of their own. Maybe it's good to look at things that way...puts things into a broader perspective. At the same time...I shouldn't just push aside my sorrows because they don't compare to the sorrows of others. I need to deal with pain. Because THAT is how you learn from pain...by dealing with it. Not by ignoring it. BUT...dealing with pain does not consist of skulking around like a big baby wanting everyone to feel sorry for you. You have to find your way to the source of the problem (which is usually yourself, by the way, not somebody else) and fix it! When I finally deal with pain...I usually find myself on my face before God, begging fervently for forgiveness for ignorant and rediculous things I've gotten myself into. It's always ME. The things that eat me up inside rarely have anything to do with what has been done to me by others. It's never what God has done to me. It's always what I have done to MYSELF.
So...I'm just like the ol' Hebrews...I follow the same Deuteronomistic pattern.
REBELLION --> REPENTANCE --> RESTORATION
It's funny...we read the old testament and think "Man, these Jews...they're so dumb! Why don't they just do what's right in the beginning so that they don't go through all this heartache and they receive God's amazing blessings!?" Yeah, well, we do the same thing now. We always crawl back to him...and He accepts us with loving, open arms.
So...should I never feel sad? It seems that pain is necessary for everyone. With pain we learn and grow. (Inspiration from a discussion with Ellen in painting today) I just can't help but feel bad whenever I feel sorrow or sadness. I think of all the people who really have things to be sad about and that places my petty little problems in a different pathetic category of their own. Maybe it's good to look at things that way...puts things into a broader perspective. At the same time...I shouldn't just push aside my sorrows because they don't compare to the sorrows of others. I need to deal with pain. Because THAT is how you learn from pain...by dealing with it. Not by ignoring it. BUT...dealing with pain does not consist of skulking around like a big baby wanting everyone to feel sorry for you. You have to find your way to the source of the problem (which is usually yourself, by the way, not somebody else) and fix it! When I finally deal with pain...I usually find myself on my face before God, begging fervently for forgiveness for ignorant and rediculous things I've gotten myself into. It's always ME. The things that eat me up inside rarely have anything to do with what has been done to me by others. It's never what God has done to me. It's always what I have done to MYSELF.
So...I'm just like the ol' Hebrews...I follow the same Deuteronomistic pattern.
REBELLION --> REPENTANCE --> RESTORATION
It's funny...we read the old testament and think "Man, these Jews...they're so dumb! Why don't they just do what's right in the beginning so that they don't go through all this heartache and they receive God's amazing blessings!?" Yeah, well, we do the same thing now. We always crawl back to him...and He accepts us with loving, open arms.