I am sure most of you have heard the phrase 'being on an emotional roller coaster' before, but it's a lot easier to do than we realize. I have been dealing with a situation recently and I had not realized how much I had let it control me and dominate my life. This is because I let my emotions control me. When I felt anger I let it envelop me and guide my actions some of which being stomping feet, banging my head and more two-year-old tantrum behavior that I'm not proud of. When I felt hurt I let it push me down and burn a scar on my heart toward the person who hurt me. These scars were always there and seemed to hurt whenever I encountered the person who hurt me. This is where a good emotion of forgiveness come in, God calls us to forgive those people that hurt us because goodness knows we've hurt others and holding on to the hurt does nothing but harm us. While it might not be easy to forget what the person has done we need to forgive them, and this might be an everyday process.

We also need to stop those scars from causing us anxiety for future situations. It blows my mind how stressed and worked up I can get in certain situations because I'm worried about the outcome because of the scar on my heart either in that situation or with that person. This is part of being on that emotional roller coaster. It's letting your emotions control you and determine how you reach. Another emotion that can often get us is guilt.

I am often really hard on myself because I believe that I'm guilty for everything. While yes I am a sinner and am constantly making mistakes it still takes two to have conflict. I need to be aware when I make mistakes and own up to them but I also need to make sure that I do not let guilt over-compass the fact that I am a child of God who is loved and valued by God. Guilt has no room in my life when I have the Holy Spirit who will convict me when I need it and will show me the love of Christ. Another crazy emotion is fear/anxiety. This one captures all of us in so many ways. Whether it is fears about the future, anxiety about a friendship or even just worrying about little things. These can all take over your life if you let them! Recently my mom made a comment about how I was so worked up about a situation it was clouding my judgment and I was acting like it was the end of the world.

I was letting one conflict rule my life. It is still hard not to let this situation bother me but I when I'm tempted to get upset or discouraged I pray or think about God. I remind myself, Stop, Trust, and Rest. Stop worrying about everything, trust that God is in control of the situation and rest in his goodness instead of overthinking my actions in the situation. These things are not easy but they are the first step in not letting your emotions control you.