I last shared the dangers of internalizing hurt. If you have not read my first post, please take the time now. How one's true feelings relate to how they respond to conflicting situations is what I will explore in this post. Why does this even matter? As a women working in Corporate American there are still those that believe that women are to emotional to handle high stress environments. There is more realization of the impact of emotions and cultural identity. Gender differences dictates that men are not to be emotional and women are too emotional. I believe even in everyday life situations the understanding of where an emotional response originates and the type of hurt displayed can be useful in managing my emotions and better respond to work or life situations without resulting in emotional outbursts or retreating into isolation.
Our emotional state can cause turmoil and confusion especially in climates where peace is essential to harmony for everyone. Hebrews 12:14-15 states, "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many"
Grace allows you to do what your flesh is unwilling to do when hurt has taken a hold of you…in other words we all have the ability to push beyond what we feel emotionally. However, it might require some exploration in a safe environment to understand why as to respond differently to get positive results. One morning I was waiting on a call for a radio interview and as I was reflecting on my life's journey I noticed that there was a pile of papers on a table nearby and another pile of paper in another "area.
As I thought more about why I seem to have a problem with organizing mail that came to my home to the point that it was piling up I realized that it was related to feelings of abandonment and also how I responded to change. I was like "really, God" I am 52 years old and now you tell me....laughing at myself, I realized that this ran deeper than I thought because I had build up a behavior that caused dis-ease in my ability to adapt to change.
Perhaps, my story resonates with you and are desiring a place of peace and it starts with knowing this type of hurt - what I call "Childhood Hurt" and then of course there is the "Church Hurt". Each might have familiar feelings when we experience them and the reason is because they both that is Childhood Hurt and Church Hurt are relational types of hurt where there is a deeper emotional tie.
Consider this...how we experience hurt can be the result of an emotional response to:
· Personal Offense
· Being Ignored
· Disrespect
· Unrealistic expectations
· No regard for others feelings
· Fear
Exploring these areas in your life is an opportunity to create relationships and a life that is more pleasing and satisfying rather than looking for someone else to creative a happiness for you.
If you would like to read more about my story on how I overcame hurt. Order a copy of Perfectly Imperfect: Seeing Yourself Through the Eyes of God here.