…because I can’t see what life looks like moving forward. However, because of the determined soldier within me, who knows that there is still more ahead and that my calling and purpose depend on me continuing to go forward; I know that I have to keep running. Everything that lies ahead for me is contingent upon it. But that doesn’t make it easier or make feel any better.
I know sometimes as we face certain obstacles and frustrations in life, our defenses tell us to “F it” or forget it. But that’s only in theory. Those offenses or emotions that we put out of our mind, on the backburner, or that we suppress…are only lying dormant. They’re not gone. They’re just waiting for the right time to resurface. And by right time I mean a time where we’re forced to bring those offenses up or to face them.
People need to CHECK IN. But rather than it being just an act of acknowledging one’s physical presence, we’re also needing to confirm our mental and emotional presence. Some are becoming more desensitized, numb, detached, and absent in spirit in a way that is seen as dangerous and unhealthy. Suppressing true emotion for the sake of not dealing with whatever it is…to the point that people are losing themselves. We need to make it a point to CHECK IN.
Rather than referring to stunted physical growth, I’ll be referring to stunted emotional and relational growth. Not only referring to the kind of emotional blockage that occurs as a result of children’s experiences, but also the emotional barriers that continue to present themselves in the lives of adults still dealing with the residue of the emotional distress. The damage – that though suppressed, ignored, and hidden – continues to plague both their maturity in certain areas and their relationships.
If we think about it (and most of us don’t have to think about it too long), we can all think of times where we felt like we were handed a bag of lemons; whether it be in school, on our jobs or businesses, in our marriages and relationships, with our children, or in our health. We’ve all faced some difficulty to give us cause to become bitter. No matter our age, race, gender, or socioeconomic status, none of us are exempt from experiencing difficulties, or has the ability to control how or when they come; but we can control of how we respond and process through them. In any case, our goal should never be to become bitter…but to get better.
Then I broke the news to my 50-year-old husband, who rather than expressing disbelief and shock like me…reared back to reveal the all-encompassing “S” on his chest that had suddenly appeared. Yep! We were about to be a modern Bible story. Abraham and Sarah in the flesh. LOL!
I was, as some would say, a public success and a private failure.
My worst nightmare about adopting was manifesting itself in real time. Mental Health 101 – And It’s Effects on MY Family
