WATCHWORD:
3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” 5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” 1 Kings 19:3-5
Meditation:
Get Up!
You say you are feeling down, a little sad. That you feel like the walls are closing in on you, and you just want to get out and take a walk or you’ll scream! Have you seen enough Netflix? Read all the books you wanted to read? Can you relate?
“Cabin Fever” is a real thing. “Cabin fever” describes the psychological symptoms that a person may experience when they are confined to their home for extended periods. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Symptoms include feelings of restlessness, irritability, and loneliness. There could be a tendency to let things go; you have lack of interest in getting out of bed, doing the dishes and letting them pile up unwashed, or you want to skip social events. That’s me, sometimes! That’s you?
Let’s be clear. What we all are experiencing is NORMAL, considering all that we are going through. You are not on the verge of having to be committed to a psychiatric ward. You may call it Depression, but the chances are what you are experiencing is not “Clinical Depression”, but a distant cousin. If we were not capable of mild depression, we would have no capacity for happiness and joy.
Let’s face it, there are things in this life that are designed to bring us down, to depress us; things associated with death, loss of relationships, being cooped up for extended periods, missing church-related activities and worship, etc. All the stuff of life.
Oswald Chambers, writing on the role that depression plays in life, makes this statement: “Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God’s creation. But whenever God steps in, His inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things – things we would never imagine that God was in, but as we do them, we find Him there.”
What is Chambers talking about? The simple things in life:
- Stick to your routines. Controlling your activities helps us to defeat hopelessness and defeats despair. Protect your time with God each day, listen to His voice.
- Your diet is important. A balanced diet and regular mealtimes…routines.
- Get up and move around. Sure, the recliner feels good, but get out of it occasionally. (You can’t sit at that Macbook and write all day, Stan!)
- Tune yourself to nature, just outside your window. Watch sunrises/sunsets, listen for the birds, watch the interesting way that snow melts, etc.
- Make sure your routine involves getting to bed on schedule, and getting the right amount of sleep.
- In the morning, get up, make your bed. Thank God for the day. You know that this is the day the Lord has made, rejoice in it!
- Make that call, those calls. Virtually touching others, benefits you both.
- Beware of watching too much news, could be a source of anxiety.
- Focus on the positives. Keep a written record of the blessings in your life. Doing that would trigger a sense of gratitude. Send out letters, e-mail, text to friends and loved ones. Write little essays, just for fun. Who knows, one essay could turn into a book, even at your age!
- Final point. What we have been experiencing is a ‘new normal’. It has taken time for us to adjust to it. Don’t be hard on yourself, relax and focus on the ‘good stuff’, the blessings and graces that God gives.
Chambers concludes with this: “When the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone. As soon as we arise and obey, we enter a higher plane of life.”
In short, be kind to yourself and realize that God made you in His image and He prizes what He creates! Amen? Amen!
Bulletin Board:
Note to self: Relax, you are enough, you have enough, you do enough.
Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.
Closing Prayer:
Dear Lord, I come to You today to ask for help. You are my everything. Lord, I need rest. I give You my worry. Take it, Lord. I accept Your peace, love, and understanding. Help me to turn to You and not to myself. Help me to stop doing and start trusting. Help me to wait on Your answers, because I know that they are good. Give me wisdom, hope, and peace. Thank you, Lord, for Your patience and grace. I love You, and I know You love me so much more than I could ever imagine. Amen.
