SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS
You can rise above wallowing in emotional mud puddles by applying a variety of life tools that keep you clear-minded and in view of the solution.
Whenever a woman got into a snit and reviewed events repeatedly, her son said, “Mother, don’t wallow!”
Have you ever been a “Wallow Flower?” No, not a wallflower, but a “Wallow Flower?” who has wallowed in emotional mud unable to step forward?
If so, for sure you are not alone.
Many Wallow-Flowers believe that if they spend time going over and over something SOMEHOW this repetitive action will erase it or make it right.
What really happens is they marinade in the mud.
They then spin their wheels and splatter their windshield mucking up the clarity necessary to create a solution.
The six-second rule suggests in waiting six seconds to respond to events, we give our rational brain time to process sensory information. 1
Will your choice be to react negatively in a knee-jerk fashion (Open mouth, insert foot?) and/or wallow in an emotional funk? Or, will you respond with a thoughtful assessment of the situation?
Within those six seconds, we are looking for ways to stop negative emotional reactions.
Some people have friends and family who will stop the emoting, like the woman’s son, by reminding them– don’t wallow –which wakes us from our slide into negativity.
Others consciously choose to take a pause and then seek distance away from the situation. Gaining distance can be about becoming engaged in doing something else, going outside for air, or taking a walk.
The Prodigal Son, after squandering his inheritance, facing famine, and starving, realized that he did not have to live like this.
“And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father,” Luke 15: 17-18, KJV.
The best action of course is to go to God first.
One gal repeats the serenity prayer until she’s able to see things clearly. Others, simply lift their eyes and say, God, help me! Still, others get quiet, ask God for help and listen.
The phrase “he came to himself” could describe how it is when we, come to, restore clear thinking and escape the wallowing, being hijacked by our emotions.
After we come to ourselves– that is in this case, see things clearly- we can apply W.O.W. for future times.
Worth – What is worthwhile here? On a scale of 1-10, how important is this? What value does it have? What is at stake?
Opportunity – What opportunity is there for growth? For not recreating the same mistake? For choosing virtue versus vice? Which choice will serve the situation most positively and beneficially?
Wisdom – Is there a previously learned lesson to apply here? What lesson can be learned from this now that will help us later?
May you turn wallowing into W.O.W.
Let us rise above our emotional mud as we gain clarity of mind, the compassion of the heart, find “home” again and stay straight with God.
1 Joshua Freedman, Six Seconds Network, Accessed August 6, 2022.
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