Time for a Great Cartoon: Men and Their Emotions!

 

Time for a Great Picture: Venting!

Okay, okay. I admit it.  I sometimes take pictures of other vehicles when I’m driving.  I usually wait until I’m stopped at a stoplight, but I can’t resist a good sermon illustration.

You’ll notice that this tanker truck has a sign on the back that read:  “TANK VENTING IS NORMAL.”  I’ve enlarged the sign in the 2nd picture.

Venting dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere is normal?  Although this tanker says it is carrying carbon dioxide, I wonder if tankers carrying dangerous chemicals have the same sign?

It’s sometimes dangerous when we vent, isn’t it?  But we need to express ourselves, to put into words what we are going through, what we are feeling.  As I read through the book of Psalms, it seems to me that the Lord gives the Psalmist a lot of freedom to express exactly what he is feeling.  At times, he speaks of his discouragement as he sees the wicked prosper, his fear as he is being chased by his enemies, his sense of abandonment when he feels the Lord is not acting on his behalf.  And yet, the Lord does not strike him down or even rebuke him for his “venting.”

Do you feel free to vent before the Lord?  He will not break when we express our honest feelings to Him.  He is not a porcelain God who is fragile and needs our frustrations sanitized before we share them with Him!

Do you have a human friend with whom you can share your deepest feelings?  I love this quote by George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans):  “Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”

Do you feel “safe” with the Lord?  Free to share your deepest feelings?  Any friends come to mind who provide you with the same kindness?