Today’s Blog: Another Puddle?
TODAY’S PROVERB: Abandon your foolish ways and live! Walk in the way of understanding.” Proverbs 9:6, TLV
A very wise woman once told me, “If you keep stepping in a puddle over and over again, it’s not the puddle’s fault.” What is the puddle? It’s different for all of us. It’s the foolish way we behave because of what I call our emotional “default.” Emotional defaults generally stem from childhood or past hurts — especially severe trauma.
An emotional default is the place we land when something bad happens to us, or we are offended and our feelings are hurt. For me, it was usually rejection. Those emotional defaults cause us to behave foolishly. Make poor decisions.
When my friend spoke that bit of wisdom, I went to the Lord and asked Him was I subconsciously choosing to step in the puddle? His response was a compassionate, “Yes.”
Once I begged Him to help me change, He showed me how to analyze that moment when I chose the foolish way. Inevitably, when it happened again, we went through the process again. And again. More times than I’d like to admit. Eventually, I recognized a pattern. I identified when the wisps of rejection began inserting itself into the situation. Muddying my decisions.
The breakthrough . . .
The most significant breakthrough occurred when I could feel my body and mind and emotions respond to a situation. I became aware of the moment things were off-balance.
He taught me to stop whatever I was doing — whatever I was thinking — and evaluate my emotions. If it was “stinkin’ thinkin'” I repented, asked the Holy Spirit if there was something else I needed to repent for and then examined how I was feeling. Most of the time, I saw how the default emotions had muddied the real issues. From there, a resolution could be found. I could step away from the puddle and walk in understanding.
You know, as I think about it, what our Heavenly Father taught me to do is to let my spirit have dominion over my mind and body. In an almost clinical way, I became more of a partner with Him, rather than the victim of circumstances — present and past. That’s kind of cool, don’t you think?
The safest place . . .
The safest place to exam those default emotions — that cause us to step in the puddles — is the Secret Place with our Abba. We can cry out, “Why does this keep happening to me!” without fear of ridicule or recrimination. In fact, our Father is waiting patiently right now to help us be set free. To walk in the way of understanding. Right now.
Those default emotions are less devastating for me. Like an athlete after recovering from a severe injury, there are certain things that may trigger it. Maybe some day they’ll disappear. Regardless, Abba and I know what to do. He’ll do it for you, too. Because He loves us so much and wants us to be free.
May we walk in the way of understanding and avoid those puddles, my friends.
Proverbs 9:6 Tree of Life Version – TLV, #tlvbible, #tlvproverbs
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