Loving Your Emotions…ALL of Them 😊

~ By Deidre

When Beloved Bellies gave me the opportunity to blog about being loving, coming from any angle, I immediately did a quick internal assessment on myself. Have I operated from a place of love in my life? How have I been loving in my relationships? To myself? To my purpose? I did not like the “feeling” or emotions that came with the answers to those questions. Quite frankly, I noticed that some of my recent actions (towards others and myself) were not as loving as they should have been. It’s easy to dismiss it and shrug it off as “well I wasn’t all that bad”, but I wanted to check out what was going on inside of me to address it. That’s why I decided to blog about loving your emotions. An emotion is defined as “a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others”. Now let’s chat about loving our emotions…all of them.

For me, that starts with acknowledging each emotion…and that’s not always easy. Whether it’s anger, frustration, sadness, shame, anxiety, etc. it’s important to recognize that it is what it is. I personally don’t like to acknowledge when I’m angry, because that means that I’ve allowed someone or something to take me there. And who wants to admit that someone/something has that kind of power…not me! But when you recognize that emotion, it allows you to see it for what it is and do something about it. For example, when I’m feeling anxious, I follow the instructions written in Philippians 4:6-7.

"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Once I’ve narrowed down exactly what it is I’m feeling, then I try to target it with some form of action. That might mean digging a little deeper for more answers. I can’t be the only one that has felt some type of way about a situation but can’t put my finger on why it bothered me so much. There’s some stuff I have to ponder for a minute before I move on…and that’s okay, that’s part of loving your emotions. There are also other things you may need to consider, depending on the emotion. Do I need to take a walk? Do I need to call a friend? Should I pray about it and wait for guidance (the answer to that is yes, by the way)? Do I simply need to bask in the joy and happiness I’m experiencing now. Yes, loving your emotions includes the good/positive ones too!

Loving your emotions does not mean we stay in an unhealthy place or state of mind. It is okay to be angry, but we don’t want to stay angry to the point it causes us harm (Ephesians 4:26 says, "In your anger do not sin”). Loving your emotions can be a process, but it’s so worth it. It allows us to release what doesn’t need to stay with us and enjoy all that comes with the good emotions. We were created in His image with emotions. Jesus experienced a range of emotions while he walked the earth. I believe He wants us to be good stewards of our emotions, just as He was.