Depressed to Blessed

I have been thinking a lot about depression lately. More specifically, the people who face it daily. I think about how consuming it can be. How the person knows all the things that should make them happy, but they aren't interested. The person knows all the words you're going to say, they are appreciated but putting them into action and allowing those words to take hold in their mind is a different task entirely. Depression can be crippling, exhausting, frustrating.

For the person who is reading this and suffering, I'm praying for you. For the friend who is reading this that is trying to find all the right things to say, I'm praying for you too. I don't know all the right things to say to make you feel better. I don't know what got you where you are today. But, I will say, to everything there is a season. You have to fight. Every day will be a battle. It's easy to sit back and see all your flaws, to think about where you should be, to question if tomorrow is even worth living to see because it might bring the same emptiness that today did.

But what if tomorrow didn't bring that emptiness?

I challenge you to go ahead and focus on today, take it day by day like everyone says to, but don't allow the list of things you need to do today and didn't get around to, to consume you. Today is important, but so is the future. So while it is important to be present in this moment, I think it is equally important to think about the future. Not all the things you want out of the future, that too, can be consuming, but the joy it will bring.

Will the future bring more hurts? Oh yeah.

Will the future bring more days when you can't find the will to get out of bed? Probably.

But the future will also bring triumphs, joy, new opportunities, new friends, new jokes, new smiles, new hobbies, so many beautiful, new things.

I'm no expert on how you feel if you have depression. I am by no means a professional to try and help coach you out of it, but I want you to know you have a friend. You are not a failure. You will get to where you need to be by the strength of Christ. He is where our strength comes from, do not rely on your own strength- you will always feel weak. God will not bring you to something that will bring you failure if you're doing it for His glorification;He is not glorified in your failure.

I challenge you to ponder this- what do you want? Do you want it all?

If you do want it all, all the joys, successes, "goals" of a life, you need to start by giving it all to Christ. If you want it all, you have to have it ALL. Having it all is going to mean experiencing all of the picture. Not just the good, shiny, smiley stuff. It's going to mean having those moments of pain, a little suffrage, maybe a little fear at times, but how you learn to react to these things make all the difference. If you prepare for all the hurt that comes with all the triumph, you will find yourself more equip to deal with it, get it over with and praise through it.

It may seem like you've been in the darkness for weeks, months, years, but the light is coming. Hold on to that hope, reach for the sliver of shine that is on its way.

You are stronger in Christ. You are unbreakable. You are chosen by the God who made all things. You were made wonderfully. You are unique and beautiful. You are not alone. You are seen. You are so, so loved.

I'm praying for you, I'm cheering for you, you will survive. Joy comes in the morning.

" I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. " - Psalm 40:1-3

I'm rooting for you, hugging you, praying for you, loving you.

Your friend,

Claire

P.S. This is my favorite verse. I hope it helps with whatever you're dealing with today. <3

" The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. "- Romans 8:6