Emotional Highs and Lows

Is it a woman thing?!

There are days when my response to a situation is way beyond what it needs to be! I remember feeling SO angry about mildly annoying situations - and even as I FEEL MYSELF EXPLODING, I wonder - AM I OVER-REACTING? - BUT THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO TO STOP MYSELF!!

Then - often the next day - I discover that the reason for my EXCESSIVE ANGER was totally hormonal... It was that time of the month! (And I confess I felt sorry for my husband and children - who usually bore the brunt of my irrational reactions!) But what could I do?! It was beyond my control.

I was once discussing this problem with a woman friend, who made the comment: It makes me wonder how we can be considered guilty, if so much of what we do is caused by hormones!

I really had no answer...

But I was reflecting recently - as I was reading my chronological Bible - about the emotional highs and lows Jesus' disciples went through over the three year period they traveled with him and lived through his teaching. They were living on the edge so much of the time. (Unlike me, their emotional reactions were based on events, not on hormones!)

Who do you think I am? Jesus asked them at one point... The Messiah, Peter replied... (I ASSUME THIS WAS AN EMOTIONAL "YES!" FOR JESUS AND FOR PETER.)

Not long after that, Jesus said that He was going to be betrayed by a trusted friend and die... (IF THAT ISN'T A DOWNER!!)

A while later, Jesus took three of his disciples up Mt. Tabor, a mountain not far from Nazareth, and while He prayed, they fell asleep. When they awoke they saw Him in a new way. Enshrouded in dazzling light, he was talking to Moses and Elijah. (THEY MUST HAVE BEEN SO AMAZED!)

When they went down the mountain, they encountered a situation where the other disciples had unsuccessfully prayed for the healing of a young boy suffering from seizures... Jesus criticized their lack of faith. (HOW AWFUL MUST THEY FEEL...)

Jesus heals the young boy... (EVERYONE IS AMAZED AND HAPPY AGAIN...)

They went to dinner. The disciples argued over which one of them was the greatest... (THEY MUST BE FEELING PRETTY GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES!)

Jesus brought a little child before them - and told them that the greatest in God's kingdom don't vaunt themselves: they are as humble (shy?) as a little child. (DID THEY FEEL ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES?!)

Then there were the highs and lows - of what we now call the Easter season: Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where crowds welcomed him waving palm branches. (Palm Sunday) (HOW EXCITED HIS DISCIPLES MUST HAVE FELT! THEIR RABBI WAS FINALLY GETTING THE RECOGNITION HE DESERVED!)

Then, a few days later, one of Jesus' disciples betrayed him to his enemies after the group had just celebrated the Passover meal together. (THIS MUST HAVE BEEN THE SADDEST DAY FOR HIS FOLLOWERS - EVEN JUDAS WHO BETRAYED HIM, COMMITTED SUICIDE.)

Jesus was crucified and died. (Good Friday in the Christian calendar. - THE DISCIPLES WERE IN MOURNING... THEIR HOPES ALL DASHED.)

Then, three days later, they discovered an empty tomb where Jesus body had been - and angels who said he had arisen from the dead! (Easter Sunday - WHAT A CONFUSING DAY THAT MUST HAVE BEEN UNTIL JESUS APPEARED TO THEM IN PERSON!)...

All this leaves me wondering: Why is life full of so many emotional ups and downs?! I know we are emotional beings, but I prefer to be on a level keel most of the time...

Emotions spring from the center of who we are. Jesus' teaching touched the core of his disciples' being... They were heart-involved in everything they learned. Is that why they had so many emotional ups and downs?

But my (personal) emotional ups and downs? What purpose do they serve?

Well, maybe they do keep me humble!