I am an emotional being. That’s how God has made each of us. We all have emotions. God has emotions! Emotions in and of themselves are no problem. Dealing with them rightly is the challenge. Emotion vs. emotionalism are two different things.
Many things pull for my emotions right now; some good, some bad, some joyful, others sad (no, I’m not trying to be a poet). It’s a daily ride on the wave. I’m not a surfer. I didn’t learn to swim until I was 26 (Thank you Dave Meador from Kanakuk Kamp!). But what I am learning right now is to ride the wave of faithfulness.
I sent an email to my friend Billy. He can be poetic in his words. He writes. He responded with something that struck me and led me down the current of faithfulness, He wrote my words back to me: “walking the road faithfully” boy, that says it. My faith seems so intermittent, but hopefully, like the dotted lines on the highway, combined they lead in a very certain direction.
Love your pursuing heart.
The beat goes on. Tap a foot. Dance when you can. Sway to the music and cry when you need to.”
And so I’ve been chewing on many things lately, and the under-riding current is the desire to be faithful. What’s it mean? How’s it play out? What can I do in the day to day to be faithful to that which the Lord has called me, entrusted to me, challenged me with? How can I be ‘joyful in affliction’ and keep ‘the joy set before me’ as my focus when my emotions tug and pull for attention?
I don’t have the answers yet. I’m getting there. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to post but I saw someone from Wisconsin had visited my post on my friend Melery and it brought up more emotion. I miss her. Dearly. And I still struggle with it. And the emotional undertow started. And I have to take a step to stay faithful instead…to grieve but not be forlorn. To be sorrowful yet always rejoicing. That’s one glimpse of how being faithful plays out. And it’s tough. Only the grace of God lets me keep seeing the forest and not just the trees.