The response to a bad day

What We Feel is Not Who We Are
Our emotional lives move up and down constantly. Sometimes we experience great mood swings: from excitement to depression, from joy to sorrow, from inner harmony to inner chaos. A little event, a word from someone, a disappointment in work, many things can trigger such mood swings. Mostly we have little control over these changes. It seem they happen to us rather then being created by us.

Thus, it is important to know that our emotional life is not the same as our spiritual life. Our spiritual life is the life of the Spirit of God within us. As we feel our emotions shift we must connect our spirits with the Spirit of God and remind ourselves that what we feel is not who we are. We are and remain, whatever our moods, God's beloved children.
-Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey

I (and those around me) often become victims of my mood. I've been quite stressed this week--leaky bathroom situation in the apartment, barking dog (which is getting much better by the way!), impending deadlines and judge-craziness at work. While I can't necessarily control these things, I want to overcome the mood that seems to develop from having a "bad" day. First, it's unfair to those around me to have to live with my mood, and secondly, I allow myself to be defined by whatever happens on a given day--instead of clinging to my true identity, a beloved child of God.

Bad, frustrating things will happen. The key is to be able to continue to rejoice despite unfortunate, inconvenient circumstances. Being disciplined in prayer and reading Scripture , I think, is what it takes to lessen the power my moods have over me.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4: 4-7