“Why do you watch such sad movies when you’re struggling with your emotions right now?”

My husband just wanted to understand the WHY behind it all as I repeated the heartbreaking details of the story I’d just finished watching on PBS that night.

I wish I could say that I responded in a positive manner BUT these are not normal times so my better judgment went out the window.

“I don’t know, why do you watch blood and gut movies where people die when your biggest fear is losing your family to an invisible or visible enemy?”

After pausing and bowing my head in complete shame I said what my better self wanted to say in the beginning.

“They give my emotions a voice”

Nodding he seemed to say “I understand.”

I am normally a very upbeat happy person, always trying to make everybody feel better including myself. I like happy songs and happy endings. I wear rose colored glasses that some would say seem a bit Pollyanna-ish.

I’m an eternal optimist.

But these last couple weeks, weeks of physical quarantine due to this awful Coronavirus outbreak, my optimism has been stretched beyond capacity. I find myself crying then laughing rather than crying again. There are days when all I do is binge on sad movies and documentaries. Things that would make a grown man weep with despair.

Why?

“They give my emotions a voice”

During these uncertain times, where every emotion is a new one, remember (we’ve never lived through a pandemic before) be gentle with yourself.

Let your emotions have a voice.

Watch a sad movie, read an introspective poem, sing a sorrowful hymn penned by those who have gone before us ( a cloud of witnesses).

I give you permission. It doesn’t make you weak! Remember Jesus wept!

I’m telling you friend if you don’t let those emotions speak gently, they will SCREAM much louder than any movie or book ever could!

It’s alright to be sad. It’s alright to cry. It’s alright to give your emotions a VOICE!