Stepping Stones: When The Laughter Ends…

Transformational Tip

Most of us have some degree of trouble admitting our true feelings and being able to express them…especially if we are struggling with life-controlling problems. But throughout the Bible, God encourages us to know our feelings and not keep them hidden inside. Jesus set an example for us: He had emotions and he expressed them. He cried. He got angry. He was sad. He was concerned and sweat blood in the garden.

We often hide the way we feel behind a defense to keep our real self from showing through. Inside we may feel fearful or angry or sad, but we hide those feelings by joking…or acting superior…or being silent…deflecting attention to something else…anesthetizing it with substances or food…or employing some other defense. We may try to cover our sadness with laughter, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains. Hidden shame and sadness are roadblocks to hope and healing.

Hiding our feelings gives them control over our lives. Unexpressed anger, fear, or guilt will have a destructive influence on everything we do. We only have a small box inside to keep these feelings in…it overflows quickly. When it overflows, those feelings will come out into our real everyday functioning…that is a fact.

Your choice is very simple: Express your feelings as they happen in ways that are controllable, functional, measured, and useful to you while they match the situation…or instead, while you are trying to hold them in your feelings start to overflow that little container inside and ooze out in ways that are uncontrollable, dysfunctional, random, and sabotage your efforts to move forward.

Today, ask yourself the question; has your "cover-up" helped? Or have you learned first-hand that when the laughter ends, the grief remains? Your suppressed feelings are coming back to undermine your happiness and relationships. Admitting your feelings can be a turning point. Be honest with yourself…And with God…And then with a friend. Being real will open the door for healing. Click here to share with the Stepping Stones community your perspective “when the laughter ends”.

Prayer
Dear Father God, I've been hiding my feelings for a long time, but I know now it's time to be honest. Help me to be real. Help me to have better awareness of my feelings and more control in expressing them. Soothe me and increase my awareness of Your soothing. Help me to share my real feelings with my loved ones. Set me free from their grip. I pray in the name of the One who You sent to be my perfect emotional role model, Jesus Christ. And all God’s children said AMEN!

The Truth
Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when laughter ends, the grief remains. "
Proverbs 14:13
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
and give no opportunity to the devil.
Ephesians 4:26,27