Don't get emotional?

I always chuckled (ok, maybe not ALWAYS) when church leaders, during the closings, would tell parishioners that they had to learn to accept change and not get so emotional. I never understood how they could know what 'real' change was better than anyone in our community. I was reading David Yonke's blog a couple weeks ago and he mentioned that he was to read "The Shack" by William Young. I enjoy his blog so I decided to go to the website and order the book. I ordered that book and another one that looked interesting. I haven't thanked him yet, but I will certainly do so in the future. It was that good.

So good in fact, that I actually gave it to someone to read when I was only half way through. How could I give a good book away before I was finished with it? I received so much from the first part of "The Shack" that I felt as if I could use some time to 'rest' with it. I received it back within the week, and I have just finished it. There are post it notes sticking on many pages! The following was an interesting slant on emotions:

"Emotions are the colors of the soul; they are spectacular and incredible. When you don't feel, the world becomes dull and colorless. Just think how "The Great Sadness" reduced the range of color in your life down to montones and flat grays and blacks.".. ................"They are neither bad or good; they just exist. Most emotions are responses to perception___what you think is true about a given situation. If your perception is false, then your emotional response to it will be false too. So check your perceptions, and beyond that check the truthfullness of your paradigms--what you believe. Just because you firmly believe something doesn't make it true. Be willing to reexamine what you believe. The more you live in the truth, the more your emotions will help you see clearly. But even then, you don't want to trust them more than me." (God).

Those words deserved a post it note right? To those who claimed that I and others were too 'emotional' about the closings of our churches, they can stay in their 'dull and colorless' world. We intend to keep reexamining our church with lots of emotion. Because the truth is closer than many think.