Expressing Feelings

Grace

Read: Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven… A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance”

Some people wonder why they should ever want to share their feelings with their spouse. The truth is, if you do not openly share your feelings, they will likely show up anyway in your behavior. However, you loved one will have no idea why you are behaving as you are. That is when you get the proverbial question, “Is something wrong?” Your spouse knows something is wrong but does not know what.

Emotions are a natural part of life. King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that there is a time for everything, including joy and sorrow, grieving and celebration. All feelings have their place in our lives, and many of them communicate a lot about us. Most of our feelings are tied to some experience we have had in the past or something we are going through now. The next time you feel disappointed, ask yourself, what stimulated my disappointment? Then try to share whatever it is with your spouse.

Revealing your feelings let your spouse know what is going on inside you – what you are feeling and why. Revealing your feelings creates an atmosphere of intimacy and trust. (excerpt from “The One Year Love Language Minute Devotional” by Gary Chapman)