You feel it rising up inside you.
 

• The pain
• The misery
• The injustice
• The anger
• The questions

 
Why would someone do this to me? Why would they enter my home and cause such disharmony? Why would they treat me like some stray cat that’s just skin and bones? Not belonging to anyone. Not being wanted by anyone. And certainly not respected by the one who walked in my door.
 
But it happens.
 
So our emotional wellbeing takes a hit, and it throws our life into confusion.
 
Some call it anxiety.
Some call it depression.
Some call it PTSD.
Others just say we’re weak.
 
And we have to make a decision: What are we going to do about the pain that was left at our doorstep? Will we do the usual and pretend it didn’t hurt us? Will we smile and walk through our day not letting anyone know the hurt that’s building up inside?
 
Oh, I’ve done it that way before. And it made my heart bleed and my head pound anyway. I could hide it for a while, but then it breaks free and I’ve got to deal with it. But even as I’m trying to figure out my next step, confusion enters and decides it wants to be center stage.
 

• If I’m at work, it makes it hard to focus.
• If I’m at home, it makes it hard to complete my everyday tasks.
• If I’m with a friend, it makes it hard to make conversation.

 
Yes, emotional pain can cause confusion. Huffpost.com in their article, “4 Ways to Find Direction When You Are Feeling Confused,” discusses what to do to overcome your confusion and find the joy such as accept where you are in the middle of the fog, confusion, and feelings of “stuckness;” and, focus on what you know and what you feel sure about.
 
Confusion does accompany emotional pain, but as the article above talks about, we can get through it and sometimes even use it for good in our lives. Take a look at the Bible verse above. You may feel like God is manufacturing circumstances that cause you to be confused, but in fact God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. Lean into God, and he will give you the wisdom you need to sort out the confusion and find that peace again.

Jealousy. That old, ugly head just keeps popping up.
 
You have this friend who has had a rough life so:
 

1. You stick by them.
2. You listen when they need to vent.
3. You encourage them to reach their dreams.
4. You watch them grow.
5. You see them move past their rough life and become stronger for it.

 
Then, you learn that they’re successful and no longer living a rough life.
 
Now what?
 
Jealousy. That old, ugly head isn’t just popping up, but it’s blocking your eyesight.
 
You trip.
You stumble.
You fall.
You raise up an angry fist and say, “I wanted them to succeed, but what about me? Why do I have to endure another season of hardship and pain while they don’t?”
 
It’s a funny thing watching your friend finally succeed, and still you’re not happy about it. You’d think you’d be the one who is clapping their hands and cheering them on to victory. But you’re not.
 
The reason why might be that you can’t reach your goals unless you champion someone else to reach theirs. Even if it means you’re now the one failing.
 
Push aside your angry words, and fist raised up in anger then:
 

1. Continue to stick by them.
2. Continue to listen when they need to vent.
3. Continue to encourage them to keep moving toward their dreams being fulfilled.
4. Continue to watch them grow.
5. Continue to see them move past their rough life and become stronger for it.

 
This is not only the way to victory for them but for you, also. So how do we move past jealousy and be proud of someone else? Here are some of the suggestions you’ll find on joegirard.com in his article, “Be Proud, Not Jealous.” Think positive thoughts about other people whose success is likely to invite envy; also, replace jealousy with admiration, and envy with pride.
 
It won’t be easy to get rid of jealousy, but it will be worth it. All that energy you wasted when you were angry can now be channeled into moving forward. Take a look at the Bible verse above. The apostle Paul was writing to the church in Corinth. They were having trouble with anger and jealousy. God helped that church to move past the way they were feeling and acting. He can do the same for us to help us become proud of someone else’s success. That way you can continue to be there for your friend. After all, there are still moments while you are moving toward your goals when you stumble and fall and could really use someone to be there for you and encourage you to keep going and not give up. Be the person who stands by their friends whether you’re the one in a season of rough times, or a friend is in trouble. Tell them you’re proud of them for not giving up. Then you can be proud of yourself for not giving up either.

When you battle a chronic health or mental health issue you may find yourself home most of the time. How that home looks can influence where your emotional health falls.
 

• Is your home dark with all of your blinds and curtains closed not letting any sunlight in?
• Is your home staunch with no color and only a few things that are creative displayed?
• Is your home a reminder of what you started and didn’t finish as uncompleted projects pile up?
• Is your home blaring with the sound of the TV being on 24/7?
• Is your home a place where you proudly display pictures of your family on the wall, or are the pictures stuck in a closet somewhere?
• Is your home a place of congestion with everything strewn about in chaos with no order to it?

 
It’s important to create a peaceful, beautiful atmosphere around you.
 

1. Open up blinds and curtains to allow sunlight to filter in through the windows.
2. Decorate your home with clusters of flowers and decorations and change the theme every month or at least for each season.
3. If you’re unable to complete projects that you started, place them in large plastic containers with a sheet of paper taped on the cover with the projects listed and when they were started. Then place the container in a closet until you feel like working on it again.
4. Turn off the TV for most of the day and instead have soft music playing in the background.
5. Dig out the pictures of your family and proudly display them where you can see them and focus on the blessings you have. You can also display 4 X 6 pictures on your refrigerator.
6. Pick up the clutter in your home, especially unopened mail and unread magazines. Open your mail right after you receive it, and file it in an accordion file with months of the year listed or by categories such as bills to pay and letters to write. Keep magazines in the order you receive them on a bookshelf or inside a wooden basket.

 
Here are some other ideas on how to create a peaceful atmosphere in your home on goodhousekeeping.com in their article, “10 Real-Life Tricks for Creating a Calm, Peaceful Home,” such as giving everything in your entryway a home by installing hooks to hang coats on and making room in the entry closet for shoes and boots. Another of their ideas is to ensure that your day ends on a soothing, luxurious note by using fresh and soft sheets and blankets on your bed so you can relax into them at night.
 
The important thing to remember is to create an atmosphere in your home which allows you to look about and see beauty and organization. This change can be effective in lessoning the stress you have in your life. Also, as you work on your home you may find yourself excited once more to complete unfinished projects or read an article in one of your magazines you’d forgotten about.
 
But also give yourself a break. Things don’t have to be done perfectly in your home. A few areas of disorganization is okay. Just so long as it isn’t a theme in every room of your home. And don’t think that you have to finish everything overnight. Choose one room and then move on from there. Pretty soon you’ll begin to feel a sense of comfort and joy even inside your own home.
 
Having a peaceful heart, as the Bible verse above says, can give life to your body. Less stress equals a healthier heart and it may even add years to your life. Peace is a gift that God freely gives. It’s not something you can muster up in your own strength. God will give you the wisdom you need because your home’s atmosphere really does matter especially to God.

Against the far corner of the room stood an old grandfather clock. Its top most part housed the clock works and almost reached the ceiling. The clock was made of a light-colored wood with glass etchings covering the clock face. The chimes hung gracefully and traveled ever downward with each movement of the pendulum.
 
The clock was a prized possession of its owner having been built by her father many years ago before he passed. But though it was the owners pride and joy, the clock did not bring her peace, but a constant reminder of how behind she got with her work each day. The clock served as a commanding general handing out commands with each beat, and she felt like she was always being watched.
 
It was as if the General was pointing his finger at her and bending down to catch her in the act of taking even a short break. And so it drove her onward with each sound of the clock. When the chimes rang out, at quarter, half, three-quarter and hour they always made her jump.
 
She thought off moving the clock into a more secluded part of the house instead of in the living room which she passed through during the day. You see, she did not leave her home each day to venture out into the world to her job, because she was a writer and her home was her work place. And so the General’s eyes were ever upon her.
 
This tale of the clock and its owner doesn’t stop with just the grandfather clock. In almost every room of her home, there stood a clock ticking out the time as if they were captains and privates in the General’s army.
 
Some people have the fortune of being more laid back than others. The clocks that sit upon their desks and bedside tables don’t threaten them nor do they demand attention. The purpose of the clock for them is just to mark the time. Nothing more. Nothing less. They didn’t feel the presence of someone watching their every move.
 
Wrestling with feelings of inadequacy is one reason why we can struggle with feeling watched. We may have failed many times in the past to be who others think we should be, and believe we will always let those around us down.
 
Thesciencealert.com in their article, “Ever Feel Like You’re Being Watched? It’s Not You,” suggests some ideas of why your feel watched. One possibility is that your observer has noticed you turning around, and looked up at you in return, so even though you’re being watched, it’s only because you’ve turned around. Another one is some slight clue has alerted you to the presence of someone else. This article provides several other reasons for feeling watched that may not be on purpose at all.
​ 
Back to our story about the General. At any given time we can give up the sense of being watched. As the article above discusses, we can begin to believe someone’s eyes on us isn’t on purpose to catch us failing, and we can begin again to believe we are doing a good job with each task that is assigned to us in the day. This way, in a sense, we can stop feeling like we’re being watched even at home simply by not winding up the grandfather clock.
 
Know also, that the eyes of the Lord are always on us. He knows our fears of inadequacy and can hear our cries to be set free from them. He also sees that we are doing the best that we can with what we have. He will comfort our hearts and help us to stop believing we are always being watched only to see if we will fail, but also when we succeed.

They say that things come in three’s –
 
My washing machine spills out water from the hose connected to the hot water
My microwave oven suddenly stops working while cooking dinner
Then, wait for it, I go out to my car to drive to a repair shop but it won’t start
 
Yes, three’s. That’s if you believe in that superstition. Yet sometimes that’s what happens.
 
But some of us have found that our lives don’t just come in three’s, but four’s, five’s, and you get the picture. Everywhere I look it feels like my life is falling apart.
 
Things break down like the washing machine, microwave and car. But our bodies break down because of multiple chronic health issues, also. And, the worst of all, those we love fall asleep and never wake up.
 
When life is crumbling around you, do you ever feel like maybe you’d like to fall asleep and not wake up? Do you just want to stop the merry-go-round and jump off?
 
But what if your life suddenly takes a turn around? Good things start happening in three’s.
 
          You get the job you wanted
          You make a new friend who likes the things you do
          You finally get that vacation you’ve waited for so long
 
But are you excited, or are you waiting for the other foot to fall and for everything to start falling apart again? It’s a difficult place to be. You’ve been so used to things going wrong that you’ve lost the art of finding the good and basking in all its sunlight and peace.
 
Depression doesn’t only take away your joy; it can increase the likelihood that bad things are always on the horizon, because that’s all you’re looking for.
 
Yet you say to me, “You just don’t know my life. There can’t possibly be anything good. Can’t you see that my life is falling apart all around me?” Though I haven’t lived your life, I’ve lived long enough to know that even if there isn’t anything you can find that’s good right now, keep pushing forward with your eyes looking up. You can’t find the good if you keep your head down all the time.
 
Marcandangel.com, in their article, “8 Things to Remember When Everything Goes Wrong,” list some good suggestions for helping you see things differently. They include everything in life is temporary and don’t be ashamed of the scars life has left you because they are symbols of your strength.
 
Finally, just as the Bible verse above says, always keep your eyes looking straight and directly before you. If you constantly look at all of the negative circumstances all around, your path may stray off course and you may find yourself sinking in sand. Let’s keep our feet on the bedrock and know you’re gonna make it through feeling like your life is falling apart.