Are You Depressed?

We all know depression is a debilitating emotion but that doesn’t keep us from becoming well acquainted with it. The year 2020 which initially held promise of focus on new and exciting vistas became a time of hanging on to health and sanity by our fingernails.

Covid-19 demolished travel plans, shut people away in fear, with many friends and family members sickening and even dying. Jobs were lost, businesses went belly-up and our nation became as fragmented, politically, as our lives did, physically.

These are all reasons to let depression get a fierce grip. But wallowing in the doldrums of despair is not a healthy situation. Depending on your circumstances, the steps needed to pull out of that smothering morass may need to be baby steps or even giant steps. But that first step needs to be taken.  

 Sarah Young, in her entry for January 17 in the devotional book, Jesus Calling,  reminds us that keeping a thankful attitude allows us to experience Jesus’s Presence—even if our surroundings seem exceedingly bleak. Jesus “can weave miracles into the most mundane days” if you stay focused on Him.

 After all, He is the One who conquered death by emerging from a tomb on the third day. He would love to show you a miraculous something, fashioned just for you. As you cultivate a heart of thanksgiving—that first step--depression will begin to crumble.

For instance, if you contracted covid and an effect you suffered is bone-weariness, the morning you wake up and can swing your legs off the bed with gusto is a “mundane” miracle tailor-made for you. Start looking for those blessings and there will no longer be room in your mind for depression. In fact, Barbara Johnson, the Christian humorist, wrote an entire book about spotting these blessings—Splashes of Joy in the Cesspool of Life.

 “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:19

 So get ready for that first step with a grateful heart. Climb your maountain—no matter the height because He will give you the strength.