Tackling Depression

June is a difficult month for our family. It starts with mine and my husband’s wedding anniversary, a little more than a week later it’s our son’s birthday, a few days after that Father’s Day and then a week later the anniversary of my mom’s death. 

Just when we think the end is in sight, the 4th of July hits. My husband and our son’s favorite holiday. And then, our daughter’s birthday. For five years now, we have had to find ways to get through those days without our sweet boy.

So many people on this planet are dealing with difficult circumstances. This morning I was texting with a friend who has a chronic illness. I have no idea what that is like. I can’t imagine that she wakes up joyful wanting to jump out of the bed and skip through the house. She confessed that she was thinking about taking a nap. I told her that I was headed out for a run. Her response, “You’re a better woman than I am.” 

I love my friend! She is wrong. I am not a better woman. I think we are both doing what we need to do to tackle our struggles and move forward. 

Life isn’t easy and there are many things that can cause our days to be a real struggle. We all deal with depression to some degree. In fact, sometimes I take a little vacation there and allow the sorrow to wash over me. However, I don’t want to build my home there. 

To be honest, I did let myself take a little vacation there in June. I hardly ran the entire month. Mostly because my body was too tired from grieving. I simply didn’t have the energy, and I needed to rest. My body needed the rest, just like my friend’s body needed the rest this morning.

Depression is a tricky thing. There are days when we have to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps and push our body to the limits. And there are other days that we can rest and allow ourselves to face the sadness head-on. However we handle it, we have to keep our eyes on the cross constantly reminding ourselves of truths from God’s word.

I am grateful for the example that Elijah sets for us in 1 Kings 19. He was running from Jezebel because she was trying to kill him. Verse 3 tells us that he “ran for his life.” He was exhausted when he finally found his way into the desert, sat down under a broom tree, and prayed to die. Based on his words to God in verse 4, “I have had enough, Lord,” I would imagine his exhaustion was more than physical. He was also emotionally and mentally worn out.

So, he took a nap. Sometime later, an angel woke him and gave him some food and then he went to sleep again. A little while later,  the angel woke him again and gave him more food. Then he was ready to move forward. There is a great lesson for us in this story.

I had done the resting. This morning, I knew that my body needed to exercise while my friend’s body needed to rest. Neither one of us is doing a better job of tackling depression. We are both doing exactly what we need.

How about you? Do you need to rest today or push yourself a little bit to get over that hump? Whatever the right thing is for you, I pray that you will do it confidently with your eyes on the cross intentionally moving forward.