Something that isn’t talked about often enough in Christianity is that people still have emotions after coming to know Christ. We can still get sad and upset. Our days don’t always go well and aren’t filled only with happy smiles. Maybe sometimes they even go worse. It’s only that after knowing Christ, we trust in Him to bring us the peace and contentment that we need because we know God is taking care of us constantly. Our Father, our King, is a provider.
Part of knowing your faith is being honest with yourself and your emotions. Just because you know God doesn’t mean everything will be easy. The opposite is almost certain.
“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” 2 Timothy 3:12
There will be constant spiritual warfare placed upon you by the enemy. And in this day and age, when everything is so fast-paced and easily accessible, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the world. When you’re unsure of where your heart stands, it can make things even more difficult. It’s in those moments when we either fall to the world or choose to let God take control.
God knows our whole lives; before we were born, He had us in His heart, and He was paving a way for us. When we choose to trust in and rely on God and His wisdom over our own, that is when the burden is taken from our hearts.
I mentioned in my other post that last year, I was feeling depressed at my workplace, but it went even further than that. One day, while at work after being berated by an angry customer that I, not a manager or floor worker, should have never had any interaction with, had a melt-down panic attack.
Let me set the scene for you. At the time, I was a dog groomer on a strict schedule working at a corporate pet store. I was already behind for the third day that week because of poor scheduling by management and was looking to leave late again. I was the only one in the salon, but not the store. Two days previous, I left late because I was looking for a collar that one of the bathers misplaced on a day that I wasn’t working. I contacted everyone, though no one could tell me where it was.
On this particular day of the breakdown, the wife of that man came back and started causing a huge scene. I was trying to handle the situation tactfully, but the more she went on, the more cornered I felt. I didn’t know what to do about it because I wasn’t trained to handle negative customer interactions.
I went to ask the working manager what to do, she told me to let them pick out another collar and tag. And I, who had a dog left to groom with only 30 minutes on the clock, saw the time start dwindling down, began to break down. The woman was trying to find problems with every collar even though she was allowed to pick any one of the 40+ on the wall.
After about 10 minutes of helping the woman without any progress, I had to go back to management and tell them they had to deal with it. Right as I did, I started full-on crying and having a panic attack. I then went back to the salon to collect myself and finish grooming, but I couldn’t stop the tears. The fact that I felt so embarrassed because I was working in a glass box where everyone could see me grooming this sweet little dog with my face bright red from being so worked up, only made it worse. I had to work over an hour late that night because of the setback. Then after leaving the store, I sat in my car for thirty minutes before I felt okay enough to drive the 45 minutes home.
The following morning, I didn’t want to go to work, but it was a Saturday, one of the busiest days of the week. Schedules are set in advance, so I didn’t want to let any of the clients down and went in regardless. As I drove, the closer I got to work, the more dread set in. My whole body wanted to reject the process. I couldn’t keep a smile on my face at work. I tried my best to hold it together, but I just couldn’t. After 20 minutes, I started crying uncontrollably because I wanted to leave but felt trapped.
I had to finally go out in the main room and tell my manager while sobbing like a toddler, the only words that I could utter from my mouth, “I know I already have a dog here and others scheduled, but I need to go home.” The other groomers just stared at me as the manager said okay.
I walked over to put my equipment up but felt dizzy and fell to my knees. The manager told me she would take care of it and to leave. It took about 40 minutes and a phone call with my mom before I felt comfortable leaving the parking lot.
This wasn’t the first time that I broke down while working, but it was the most extreme. I think many people don’t realize how stressful the job is. Especially in a corporate environment, when you have no control over your schedule and are constantly overbooked, it can take its toll on a person. Since all the appointments are schedule-based, we’re encouraged not to take sick days because of the inconvenience for clients. Only half of the clients are understanding in most situations. On top of this, we also didn’t have time to take regular breaks. Sometimes to stay on schedule, I couldn’t even use the restroom for six or more hours.
We also didn’t get regularly scheduled lunch breaks. Most weeks, I didn’t even have the time to think about eating though my stomach sure did. You may be thinking, “Well, why didn’t you talk with management? Why didn’t you schedule dogs better?”, but we did multiple times; we brought up the issue and it was never fixed. But now I’m getting sidetracked. All I’m trying to say is grooming is hard stressful work. All dogs are different, all their temperaments are unique, and most of their coats are in poor condition for one reason or another.
There is a lot we have to think about and take into consideration during the entire grooming process. It’s more than just playing with dogs all day. But as stressful as it was, I loved what I did. I loved when the owners’ faces lit up after they saw their dog. I loved when I was able to make the dog feel so comfortable that they would fall asleep while I was grooming them. It can be rewarding, but I guess the reason I felt so bad when my work wasn’t appreciated, was that I liked it so much.
After all that complaining just now, it brings me back to my point. Once I finished sitting and feeling upset for two days, talking with people about the issue, and continuing my Bible reading, I took the time to reassess the issue at hand and how I was handling the whole situation. I realized that I was just complaining rather than persevering. I was focusing on my pain rather than on how God could overcome the situation for me. He would be the one to redeem me and restore me. I decided to trust Him and the roads He has already laid out in advance for me. I remembered that with God’s love, I can endure forever. The pain I was feeling was only temporary suffering caused by the world, but His love is much more than that.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ” 2 Corinthians 12:9
I had a realization before, that every emotion should be cherished, even the difficult ones, because that will be the only time we ever feel that emotion for that reason.
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Romans 5:3-4
Each emotion is a lesson that Christ can use to teach you. God can use your pain, even your lowest of emotions, Christ can use them if you allow it.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
Even the simplest things are powerful in Christ’s hands. You can either choose to live in that emotion and settle there or ask God to help you rise above and conquer it with you. With Christ, you can have power over your emotions. They don’t have to continue to eat you alive. Choose to trust in the Lord and His never-ceasing grace. Let Him be the driving force that abounds in you. It won’t always be easy, but it will make it much more rewarding.
I want to say again, as I did in my last post, that if you are feeling overwhelmed, it is perfectly fine to seek professional help. There is no reason to feel bad or ashamed for doing so. It is easy for our minds to get overwhelmed and bogged down. There is no reason to feel shame about it. God loves you and He also designed the right people here on Earth to help you with your troubles. It’s okay to not always be okay.
Here are a few other verses to meditate on:
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3: 22-23)
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. I will give you rest. Take my Yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30