God-given emotions

I am not high on the sentimentality scale, which is okay. God made all sorts of people, and it is good that some of us hold it together in rough situations. Let me also add: it is good that some of us fall apart. Emotions are a beautiful part of God's creation, like the musical score playing in the background of our lives. Without emotions, what significance would a promotion hold? How much could you belittle a child's crisis if you did not also feel her pain? Our emotions make life richer. One of my closest friends cried when I told her my mom had cancer; I had not yet shed a tear, and her tears were a beautiful gift to me.

I have experienced some loss in my life during this calendar year. Every time I am sad, it is like a bow being drawn across a cello string, and the note that comes forth is pure and longing. Imagine someone taking a lovely, sad piece of music and playing it at four times the tempo specified. Or drawing out notes that are all wrong. It wouldn't even be sad anymore. But God created those notes to sound. Give them the time they need to accomplish their purpose. Maybe you even need to practice a little to get them right. It is worth effort in order to be in tune with God's purposes, even the purposes He has for your emotions.

We were watching The Twilight Zone on a retro television station the other day. The pacing of older shows and movies is so delightful. It speaks of a different era in our culture. Sometimes I find The Twilight Zone painfully overly dramatic because. of. the. slow. pacing! But as the poor protagonist ran throughout his home, trying all the doors, this frantic, tragic music played in the background. My middle daughter, delightfully blond, said, "What is wrong? Why can't he open the doors?" The youngest, wise and very droll, browsing on the laptop with only a modicum of attention on the tv, commented, "Of course something bad is going to happen: listen to the music."

Emotions are not meant to be a dictator. They are bad leaders. If anger is prompting you to do something, you should seriously pull back and seek wise counsel. But God created emotion to move your movie script from its infant "rehearsal stage" to the full art form created by the musical score.