Depression to Dimples

I awoke this morning wondering why I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders (could have been the fact that the coffee was not yet made).

Then I remembered the events of the past two days: news of a dear friend whose father just died (on top of her husband dying last year and her mother, the year before), hearing that another friend had a serious relationship rupture, finding out that much-anticipated guests were not able to make the trip to Elko, sharing in the sadness of a beloved aunt whose granddaughter is paying for poor choices, and the topper—my brother’s call last night, saying he was having surgery early this morning which could either be out-patient or in-patient, depending on what the surgeon found when they opened him up.

While I waited for the coffee to perk, I was foolish enough to fetch the newspaper from the front porch, opening it up to front page articles ranging from negative to right-down bad happenings.

I usually associate dimples with visible signs of happiness My “dimples” began with a fresh cup of coffee. Realizing that I had not started myday reading the best material, I turned to Psalms 119, the second subdivision of that long chapter, entitled “Beth” and was reminded of how important it is to mediate on God’s Word. The old “pledge of allegiance” to the Bible from Vacation Bible School days is taken from verse 11—“Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against God.”

It wasn’t too long after that, a major dimple appeared with a call from my groggy brother. He had just gotten home from the hospital, was sitting in his easy chair and wanted to assure me that all had gone well with his surgery.

I anticipate other “dimples” throughout the day but if they don’t materialize, I’m grateful for what I was given. I realize dimples are depressions with a joyful attitude, so the lesson for me today would be: Look for the dimples.