Life Lessons from the book of Job

I have recently been struggling to come to terms with past experiences. Past experiences that were unpleasant to say the least. It's taken me a long time to even be in a place where I wanted to examine those places that I had buried down deep in my psyche.

Have you ever heard the term "Emotional Hoarding?" Well that's me, I'm an emotional hoarder. I hold onto things. Kind of a combination grudge holder/self flagellation. Sometimes I hoard things that other people have done to me. And other times I hoard things I've done to myself. Normally I'm really good at just pushing them away and keeping them hidden in my emotional closet. Until I feel really stressed about something. Then I use that stuff I've buried to deflect what's really going on in my life and get it good and muddied up with the current stuff.

As I stated in my previous post...I'm trying to stop being an emotional hoarder. It's not a fun way to be and it's not allowing me to progress emotionally, spiritually maybe even physically.

Recently during Sunday School we were having the lesson on Job. Something that really stood out to me while I have been studying the book of Job is that he truly TRUSTED the Lord. Not only that but he was totally, constantly and profoundly GRATEFUL for all of his blessings. So much so that when Satan's first wave of torment happened and he lost all of his wealth, he didn't turn away from Heavenly Father, instead he prepared burnt offerings and prayed. He knew that all of his wealth and blessings had come from Heavenly Father and that if Heavenly Father saw fit to take them away then who was he to argue. He knew that no matter what hardship he endured Heavenly Father would help him get through to the other side of that challenge.

I have never known that kind of faith. I've spent so much of my life being hurt, angry, confused and doubtful, not to mentioned unfocused. I've spent way too much time saying "Why Me!" Instead of understanding that the sum of our life experiences make us who we are. If I had not gone through those terrible things as a child, maybe I would not have been as vigilant a mother as I have tried to be. Maybe I would not be someone who believes in compassionate service and have gained a testimony of Visiting Teaching. So many things might have been different in my life.

Certainly some of those may have been good things, but what would I not have in my life now. I'm really blessed. I have a good husband who is trying to do what's right and have a strong relationship with his Heavenly Father. I have two healthy sons. I have a job and a home that I love. I've been put in a position where I have been able to bless the lives of others because of how Heavenly Father has blessed me.

So the question remains why if I am so blessed do I hoard these other negative feelings and experiences instead of giving them over to the Savior. Well, I'm going to start doing just that.

So what have I learned for reading the book of Job

1 - Gratitude in ALL things...not just the good things
2 - Pray always
3 - Choose your friends wisely (I so could have done without Job's friends telling me to curse God and die).
4 - Judge not. Don't presume to know what other's are going through. Two people can share an identical experience and yet what they take away from that experience may be totally different.
5 - Endurance is the key
6 - Trust the Lord in ALL things
7 - Accentuate the Positive and Eliminate the Negative (again with the friends...I would so eliminate them)
8 - Family is key
9 - Remember that your scars make-up who you are now. They are evidence of having come through to the other side of a struggle. They are only ugly if you focus more attention on the scar than on the lessons learned.
10 - Gratitude in All things...it all comes full circle.