happysad “How ya doin?”

Three little words is all it takes sometimes to turn a quiet, contemplative moment into three hours of venting frustration and shouting to the rooftops about this problem or that.

We all have problems, and usually they are person-specific. As Christians we have the benefit of belonging to a support group that helps us work through our issues and grow as children of God.

This week we’re looking at the simple question “How ya doin?”

Maybe you’re not feeling very useful right now. Maybe you feel all alone. Maybe you feel like every day is bad and there’s no end to the struggles in sight. Maybe you feel abandoned by God or maybe you just feel like running away.

Feelings like that happen to us all. There’s little we can do to avoid having those negative thoughts pop in our brain. What we can do is keep the right state of mind, have a little perspective and a healthy dose of trusting in God and we can limit the amount of time we dwell on such negativity.

So…how ya doin?

“I feel unloved.”

One of the worst things about being depressed is the disconnect between the intellectual and the emotional. We know (intellectually) that there are people who love us, but emotionally we don’t “feel” like it. It’s the reason people say “I know I’m loved, but…” And whatever follows the “but” may not make much rational sense, but it doesn’t change the emotions being felt. That disconnect becomes a chasm that can’t easily be bridged.

Depression can be defeated. In the meantime, it’s important to keep the chasm–that intellectual/emotional disconnect–as narrow as possible. It can widen if we let it, and if we do we slip deeper into depression. In order to keep the chasm narrow, and hopefully shrink it, we have to constantly surround ourselves with reminders that we are, in fact, loved.

Aren’t you glad we have mid-week Bible study?!

It’s nice to know that, as the grind of the week starts wear me down, I have a pick me up right as I need it most. I get to gather with my brethren in Christ, sing with them and study with them and be encouraged by them. In short, I get to enjoy the love they offer.

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

1 John 4:7

If you’re feeling unloved, surround yourself with loving people!

 

Think about it,
have a great day