Tag: emotional

Unpacking Boxes

On Sunday, my husband completed a 9’ bookshelf for me!  I have boxes of books that have just been waiting for a home, and Chris built me beautiful shelves to begin placing them.  Slowly, but surely, I’m going through each box and getting them on the shelves.  My next step is to alphabetize my fiction and non-fiction books by author as well as separate my Bible study and reference material!  I’m kind of a nerd like that, so I’m very excited!

Sometimes, we have emotional “boxes” in our lives that we’ve tucked away like my books.  It’s something we need to unpack but something hinders us from doing it.  Perhaps it’s a hurt that you don’t wish to feel again.  Maybe it’s anger that you’ve stuffed down to avoid.  It could even be a fear that you’re not ready to deal with.

We keep the boxes hidden away because we don’t have the capacity or space to handle it.  What hinders me from pulling those boxes out, usually, is the need to control the current situation or the outcome.  If I can’t feel it, I don’t have to deal with it.  If I don’t have to deal with it, I don’t have to accept the answer.  The problem is, though, that the box never really goes away.  You just pile boxes on top of it until you’ve got a closet full of old boxes that never get dealt with.

You know who can handle them?  Our God can.  He tells us to give it to Him.  “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” –Matthew 11:28-30

He tells us to come to Him and He will help us.  We are to take on the yoke of the Father.  Why?  Because His yoke is comfortable and light.  But how is that possible? Because He bears it with us.  Isn’t that beautiful!  We don’t have to take on those boxes by ourselves.  We have God who walks with us, who is with us through the hard stuff.  It’s truly a gift.

I pray if you have boxes that need unpacking in your life, that you lean into the King of Kings and allow Him to help you as you begin the process.

~Erin

Puppy Abandonment

I had a messy-train-wreck-weepy-meltdown a few Saturdays ago.  My husband looked bewildered as we stood in the kitchen during the sob-fest before he gathered me in his arms for a big hug.

Why was I having a nuclear melt-down?

I had just dropped our 9-month-old Lab at the veterinarian to board him for 3 days while we went to the beach.  This emotional avalanche took me by surprise!  Previously I would have identified myself as an animal lover, who takes great care of my pets, but isn’t so attached that I would be boo-hooing over leaving my puppy to be boarded for a couple days.  

I kept thinking about how scared he would be without us. Was he wondering where we were? Did he hate hearing the other dogs barking? Was he being fed enough? Did he get to play enough or was he bored?  

The worst thought?  Did he think we were coming back or did he feel abandoned?

Thinking about how overwhelmed I felt about leaving him, I started thinking about how God never abandons us…even if it feels like it. God’s Word promises that he will not leave us or abandon us.  Ever.  

In Hebrews 13:5 (NASB), we are reminded “…for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”

There it is.  Right in His own words.  “I will never desert you” and “nor will I forsake you.”  What an amazing promise! 


That promise is repeated several times in both the Old Testament and New Testament.  We can look at Deuteronomy or 2 Corinthians for other examples.  

“For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.” ~Deuteronomy 4:31 (NASB)

“…persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…”~2 Corinthians 4:9 (NASB)

There are countless times in one’s life that they could feel that God is not there.  And yet, He is there. We know God keeps his word and we know that He promises to not forsake us, so we can make the leap to know He won’t leave.  

I can’t begin to know if my puppy felt alone and abandoned, even though I was emotional about the thought.  What I can begin to know is that even in my darkest hour of feeling abandoned, my God is there.  

He never left.

~Emily