Refresh: Welcoming our Emotions
It might seem strange to think of welcoming such uncomfortable emotions as anger, sadness, and fear as a form of refreshment. But here is the thing—whether we welcome them or not, they are here, with us. Rather than exile them, or bury them, what if we, like a child who has known safety, feel them? What if we even welcomed them?
I like to think of the Psalms as a collection of prayers that teach us to welcome our emotions and even bring them to God. All of them. The happiness, the anger, the despair, the fear—they are all welcomed by the writer of the Psalm and, in trust, brought before God. Together, God and the writer look at them, listen to them, sift through them. Slowly, the chaff falls away. The kernel of wheat remains. When we pray the Psalms, we are invited to join them in this intimacy of knowing and being known.
Here is a poem by Rumi to read, and read again. I offer it for your pondering. What guest is showing up at your door on the day you read this?
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honourably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Deep peace and blessing,
Anne
Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Church at Southpoint
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