The Happy Days and the Ones That Aren'tنموونە

Have you seen the movie Inside Out? Maybe, more recently, you’ve gotten into the sequel, Inside Out 2. The concept behind both films is to do a deep dive into how our emotions exist and work together in our minds. In the first film, two of the main characters are Joy and Sadness. They share a memorable scene where Joy starts to experience a little sadness, and Sadness finds herself comforting and encouraging Joy. It’s a great reminder that these two feelings — joy and sadness — can co-exist.

So often, we believe the lie that if we’re feeling one, we can’t feel the other simultaneously. But that’s not the whole story! As the Psalmist reminds us, God created us to feel the full spectrum of human emotion. That means we can feel deep sadness over something like the loss of a loved one while feeling joy whenever we think of our memories with them. We can hold both things in our hearts at the same time.

Today, spend time thinking about the emotions you may be feeling. Remind yourself that all your emotions — the ones you love and the ones you wish you didn’t have to feel — can work together, exist at the same time, and give you hope that there’s more to come in whatever you’re feeling.