Emotional Eating
Okay. Don’t call me an emotional eater. I DON’T have emotional problems. (Some may disagree, but what do they know?) I had a great childhood, good memories, people that love me and are willing to put up with me in their lives (well, mostly), and I’m generally an over-all happy, satisfied person. SO tell my why I came home today, went straight to the freezer and pulled out a slice of key lime pie (which should never have been there), polished that off and then made myself a large cup of hot chocolate. All this about 45 minutes before dinner. I puzzled myself. I am not a big “sweets” eater. I wasn’t hungry (like that mattered). I paused to think about my day.
Jeff was in a major car accident a month ago. He’s doing great and healing well. Not the problem. And although we have begun to receive medical bills on charges relating to his care both in Atlanta and Anderson, today we received a notification from the other driver’s lawyer seeking payment and damages for suffering. This from the guy who was walking around after the accident claiming he couldn’t remember what had happened. I digress. As I paused to consider my actions, I realized I was seeking comfort. I wanted something to make me feel better. I didn’t even realize that was what I was doing, but suddenly it was staring me in the face. Apparently if my tongue is happy, the rest of me will be happy. VERY temporary fix, if it is a fix at all. So what, then? Somewhere along the way to the refrigerator, I need to be able to halt, look at what’s going on and determine a better course of action. Even better, I must have a different “escape route” in place. Human emotions are not bad. I must not, however, allow them to control my actions. Shopping, eating, drugs, sleep, anger or drink do not address the emotion driving the actions. They provide no real solution, no answer. God does, He can, He will. That’s where I need to run, into His presence, into His arms.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
"Rumpelstiltskin!"
“Rumpelstiltskin!”
Visualize the young mom with one kid on her hip while the other pulls at her leg. She is standing at the stove working with something that is burning which causes the smoke detector to go off. Just as the phone rings, someone knocks at the door. Sound familiar? Typically, “stuff” comes our way one or two at a time. We handle it and resume our daily activities. But ever so often, one or two become four or five and they arrive all at once, demanding immediate attention. It reminds me of when we (my six siblings and I) were little. After hearing “mama!” for the umpteenth time, my mom would respond with, “My name’s Rumpelstiltskin!” in hope, I think, that we would not be able to pronounce it and she would not have to respond. There are times when we just want to become invisible, transport mentally to any other location, or just melt into the carpet to avoid the catastrophes going on around us.
I reached that place last weekend. I thought I was going to explode. I had walked right up to the edge of the cliff and was peering over, wondering if I wanted to jump or if I just wanted to throw somebody else off. We all reach these moments at some point in our lives. They grab us and make us feel hopeless, helpless and sometimes fearful. We don’t know where to turn, there is no exit to which to flee and it would seem there is no answer as to how to handle the whole mess. What to do? We stumble forward, doing the best we can with whatever strength and wisdom we can muster. So very often I turn to Isaiah 41:10 which reminds us: …fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” It is so easy to feel like we are alone. But as a child of God, we are so surrounded by Him. He is over us to protect us. He is under us to sustain us. He is before us to lead us. He is beside us to comfort us. And He is behind us to gently nudge us forward when we think we are unable. Take hope, dear one! Move forward and watch Him work on your behalf!
Visualize the young mom with one kid on her hip while the other pulls at her leg. She is standing at the stove working with something that is burning which causes the smoke detector to go off. Just as the phone rings, someone knocks at the door. Sound familiar? Typically, “stuff” comes our way one or two at a time. We handle it and resume our daily activities. But ever so often, one or two become four or five and they arrive all at once, demanding immediate attention. It reminds me of when we (my six siblings and I) were little. After hearing “mama!” for the umpteenth time, my mom would respond with, “My name’s Rumpelstiltskin!” in hope, I think, that we would not be able to pronounce it and she would not have to respond. There are times when we just want to become invisible, transport mentally to any other location, or just melt into the carpet to avoid the catastrophes going on around us.
I reached that place last weekend. I thought I was going to explode. I had walked right up to the edge of the cliff and was peering over, wondering if I wanted to jump or if I just wanted to throw somebody else off. We all reach these moments at some point in our lives. They grab us and make us feel hopeless, helpless and sometimes fearful. We don’t know where to turn, there is no exit to which to flee and it would seem there is no answer as to how to handle the whole mess. What to do? We stumble forward, doing the best we can with whatever strength and wisdom we can muster. So very often I turn to Isaiah 41:10 which reminds us: …fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” It is so easy to feel like we are alone. But as a child of God, we are so surrounded by Him. He is over us to protect us. He is under us to sustain us. He is before us to lead us. He is beside us to comfort us. And He is behind us to gently nudge us forward when we think we are unable. Take hope, dear one! Move forward and watch Him work on your behalf!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
livin life lafin
Like it or not, we all are “livin’ life.” Sometimes it is joyous, sometimes, sad. None of us are exempt from the occasional “no good, very bad day” and all of us desire to avoid those days if at all possible. Not possible. So what is the best tactic in dealing with circumstances which prove to be less than comfortable? Successfully navigating through or around situations which cause us anguish heavily depends on our mental approach. My family laughs first. Before we have details, before we find out for sure if anyone is hurt or offended, we laugh. Even when an experience presents us as idiots, we rush home, or text, or call whomever we can contact to tell our “story” if it is funny. Even in a trying situation, we look for the humor. “Might as well laugh about it.” we say. As if to imply the only other alternative is to cry. Life can be harsh for any of us from time to time. What do we do in these times of difficulty? The purpose of this blog is to help each of us to be positive in our approach to life . Every struggle has a seed for learning, growing or change. Every trial can be used to mold us into a better version of ourselves. Let’s meet life head on, excited for the opportunities ahead.
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