Healthy Outlets

“Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.” C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair  

A few months after Catie died, a wise lady told me that my emotional energy for Catie would have no place to go, and it needed an outlet. She was right! 

Loss doesn’t extinguish our emotions; in fact, just the opposite. Our unfocused feelings tend to swirl and stagnate in a cesspool of pain and self-pity behind the dam of loss. And that is never good! 

After Elijah experienced his spiritual and emotional meltdown, he prayed for his life to end (I Kings 19:4). God provided rest, food, and drink, and He led Elijah back to the mountain where God had given Moses the Ten Commandments. After three displays of power, God connected personally with Elijah in a gentle whisper.   

Then God assigned Elijah his next mission: anointing kings over two leading nations and mentoring his replacement, Elisha (I Kings 19:15-16). New outlets emerged. 

After painful events, we must cut new, healthy channels to express our emotions in fresh and creative ways. We must cultivate better responses than bitter isolation, self-pity, or destructive self-indulgence. Healthy people start ministries, volunteer their time, write blogs, go back to school, or find some other expression for their love. We must find innovative outlets for our emotional energy.    

Dan Bolin

President

Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc