Monday, October 24, 2011

Part 3: Miss to Mrs


Part 3 of “Miss to Mrs”

Our third and final portion of this mini-series of devotionals ends with “S” as “Surrender your thoughts and emotions to God.”

When you’re planning a wedding, you have countless number of thoughts running through your mind. It is so easy for Satan or your flesh to take over and really mess with your emotions. Things that wouldn’t normally bother you all of a sudden do; areas that you are normally very patient in become incredibly difficult to wait upon and yes, I’ll say it, girls, we are very emotional in life transitions! Even if you have a wonderful relationship with your family and soon-to-be in-laws it’s easy to get hung up on their suggestions for the wedding or ideas for how things should go and you can get overwhelmed! There were so many times I wound up in tears over something so pitiful and so not worth my tears! Kory and I entered into the season of wedding planning praying that I wouldn’t get overwhelmed with it all but It was most certainly a battle to the very end! So my advice? When you feel your emotions rising, take a step back and say, “I surrender these emotions and thoughts to you God.” Don’t even allow your mind to go beyond that initial thought. Emotions are wonderful and should not by any means be disregarded, however I will say as one who can be very sensitive, they get in the way! They truly can destroy the joy of everything if you allow them to. God is above your emotions: your faith is not based upon your emotions, it’s a choice. Similarly, when things are thrown at you during the planning process, you have to approach them with a clear mind, with minimal emotions. Happy and excited feelings are great! Bridal showers, bachelorette parties, hair appointments, decorating for your new home are wonderful and should be lavished with your emotions! I remember at my Bridal shower in South Dakota, I was so overwhelmed with the love and support of my family and the church body, I started to cry during my speech and EVERYONE began to cry (45-50 women!). It was so beautiful! I loved that moment! CLING to those moments of emotions. On the other hand, I think I cried to Kory every night of the last week leading up to the Wedding. I remember it was 11 O’clock the night before I asked if Kory and I could pray together before midnight (as if we were going to turn into pumpkins! We didn’t see one another before our Ceremony). I was a mess. He was great to affirm me in all of it but I was a mess! Reality will sink in and a lot of emotions will take over. This is when you have to step back and say, “Lord, I trust you! I trust you with my emotions and ask for your will to be done on this special day!” Your worrisome mind will not make the wedding go any smoother nor the transition of being single to a wife any easier! Worrying about anything will not accomplish anything! Worrying will only make you more fatigued from your already hectic schedule, am I not correct? I am really preaching to myself because you realize that this is not just a “wedding thing,” it’s a day-to-day struggle for a majority of women: it continues well beyond the kiss at the alter!

So what does scripture say about your thoughts? I feel like David, although a very manly-man, was pretty emotional considering the Psalms he wrote! I love it because we can definitely relate to him! Here are some Psalms that ultimately our God who created emotions, wrote through the Psalmist David:

Psalm 10

1 Why, LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

Psalm 13

1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,

Psalm 92:4-6

4 For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
5 How great are your works, LORD,
how profound your thoughts!
6 Senseless people do not know,
fools do not understand,

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Psalm 139:23
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Do you see the emotions in David? He isn’t necessarily ignoring them and being emotionless: he is investing his emotions into the LORD and not in his situation or people he is interacting with is he? The times that he did react with his emotions, he ended up sinning! Now is this saying you shouldn’t confront someone or a situation? Not necessarily but whatever that situation is, it shouldn’t be a response ridden with random emotions that lead to endless drama and regret. If there’s an issue ---during the wedding, after the wedding, it should be approached with emotions expressed to God first, then probably your spouse can be a sounding board and then a response to the offender/offended. Make sense? Ultimately, God needs to be the God of your emotions. He didn’t give us emotions so that we could make decisions on our own: He gave us emotions as a gift to truly experience and worship Him through our senses! When we waste our emotions on matters of this world or worry of what could happen, we are taking away from the gift that God gave us for worship. Make sense?

So there you have it: Miss to Mrs! There are many more “tips and hints” to this process but when I was practicing “r” by running one afternoon the week of the wedding, this idea came to me as one that would be worth sharing! So what does MRS stand for? Make time. Rest in Him and…..Surrender your thoughts and Emotions to Him! And…..guess what, just over 2 months into it---I AM STILL HAVING TO APPLY THEM! That’s why Miss to Mrs is not just for pre-married women, it’s for ANYONE regardless of season of life!

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