Restoring Your Soul - Living a Limitless LifeSample

Connecting Seas and Feelings

Although the Jordan River connects two bodies of water in Israel, they could not be more different.

The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake situated in a region surrounded by rolling hills and fertile valleys. It both receives and releases water: the Jordan River flows into it from the north and out of it to the south, continuing down the valley. The Dead Sea, by contrast, is a closed basin with no outlet. Fed by the Jordan River and desert wadis, the only way water leaves is through evaporation.

The Sea of Galilee is teeming with fish and provides drinking water, irrigation, and recreation for the region. The Dead Sea is the saltiest large body of water on earth — nearly ten times saltier than the ocean. As a result, no fish or aquatic plants can survive in it.

Around the Sea of Galilee, villages, farms, and cities thrive. Its fresh water sustains agriculture, and its shores are alive with vegetation. The Dead Sea is stark and otherworldly. With no outlet and no visible life in its waters, it has an aura of stillness and isolation. Its shores are lined with salt crystals and dramatic desert cliffs rather than lush greenery.

The Sea of Galilee represents life, flow, and renewal — because it both receives and gives. What flows into it continues to flow outward, providing life to others. The Dead Sea represents stagnation and barrenness — because it only receives, never releasing what it has been given, it does not support life.

These two lakes invite reflection. When we experience pain that we choose not to process, when there is only an inlet and not an outlet, it is truly an emotional death trap. When we deny or bury our feelings, we set ourselves up for internal death.

Quality of life cannot be enjoyed or sustained. The shutdown keeps us from honoring our hearts and living with passion and compassion. It creates walls and prevents connection with other people. Over time, unprocessed pain can materialize in our physical bodies and produce sickness. Conversely, life flourishes when we function with an inlet and an outlet. Identifying and expressing our emotions enables us to experience greater physical and emotional well-being, as well as a deeper connection in our relationships with others.

As devastating as it is for children to be physically abandoned or feel emotionally abandoned by their parents, if we choose to shut down instead of processing our feelings, we sabotage and abandon ourselves. We often find ourselves trapped in a state of merely existing, rather than taking the necessary steps to restore our souls. God invites us to be genuine with our feelings, rather than suppressing them. He will meet the emotional pain we willingly bring to Him with healing.

I Invite You to Ask Yourself:

1. Do I tend to internalize my emotions or express them openly?

2. When someone asks me how I’m doing, do I give an honest answer or a quick, surface one?

3. Do I tend to avoid certain feelings (like sadness, anger, fear) rather than sit with them?

4. Do I permit myself to feel a full range of emotions, or do I judge certain ones as “bad” or “weak”?

5. Do I use distractions (work, busyness, food, social media) to avoid sitting with uncomfortable feelings?

I Invite You to Pray:

Lord, grant me the courage to express my emotions truthfully and constructively. Please help me to communicate in a way that fosters my own freedom as well as understanding and connection with others. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.