Allelujah! The Great Storm is Over

I thought I'd give a little update. It would appear that my medication has kicked in!

Despite:

• It being colder than is reasonable for any human being to endure
• My car being crushed by a giant tree limb last week and it being in the shop until the 24th
• Brian's loan vehicle, a sweet Gary's Mobile Home Sales van, freezing up at work and being back down to one vehicle
• Having to run around to various appointments today

I am in a good mood!!!

It just feels really nice right now to wake up feeling okay - without feeling like the weight of the world is on my feeble shoulders.

So, I'm going to get some work done today, get my house tidied up, and sit on our new couch tonight and enjoy a movie or two with my favorite guys (Reggie and Brian). Tomorrow I learn to knit socks. All is right with the world.

Unwanted Guest

The end of 2008 found me hosting an unwanted visitor. My old nemesis: Depression.

At first he came around, knocking softly at my door. I told him I didn't want what he was selling, he was unwelcome, and that he should go step in front of a bus.

Then he started pounding at my door during the afternoon and tapping on my windows late at night. He would confront me while I walked from my house to my car. He was a real nag. But I kept my distance and played it cool. I was on to his tricks, my guard was up, and I was determined he would not wear me down and gain a foothold in my home.

Finally, one day, when I wasn't paying attention, he slipped inside while the door was swinging shut behind me. He settled in to stay. And he is a total jerk! Next he snuck in his punk kid-sister, Anxiety. She has no manners whatsoever and demands so much of my attention.

Eventually their cousins, Lethargy and Guilt moved in as well.

I am not happy with this hostile take-over. At all. I can’t get anything done with them running around. I’m miserable. All I want to do is sleep. It feels a little like I have to pretend to be myself right now.

But, I have talked to my doctor and hopefully my “houseguests” will be packing their bags and hitting the road soon.

While I debated sharing this on this blog, I decided it wasn’t healthy to portray myself only as a cheerful, energetic person with no cares in the world. And I thought some of you might like an explanation as to why I haven't really been myself. We all have our demons we battle and this just happens to be one of mine. So I haven’t felt like blogging. Nothing’s been fun or funny in months, it seems. But hopefully I’ll be back to myself before long…and you’ll be wishing I would lay off the blogging already!

Happy New Year

Okay, since I haven't posted a blog for awhile I thought I would share this. I am supposed to write an article once a month for our church newsletter. Which means, I have to try to tie a spiritual message to each article when sometimes I'd love to just tell them a story without any strings attached. So, here is January's submission for your consideration.

This is not the article I was going to write. The article I was going to write was cheerful and encouraging and included reflections about the new year and turning over new leaves. But as I sat down to write this article, I heard a large crash in my back yard. I briefly considered getting up to check it out but decided it was probably my neighbors throwing trash into their dumpster. I was wrong.
30 minutes later upon approaching the back door to let Reggie (our dog) out, I was confronted with the source of the aforementioned noise. A giant tree-limb had fallen directly onto my car. (I am seriously considering giving up my tree-hugging ways.) It shattered the windshield and left numerous ugly gashes and dents. And that is when I decided that 2009 is going to be a mean, bully of a year.
I know a lot of us said “good-riddance” to 2008 and are now looking towards 2009 with hope and anticipation of what it may bring. (For me that now includes a costly car repair.) I hope 2009 is better for all of us than 2008. I hope it is better for our nation and for the people of other nations around the world. But, what if it isn’t better? What if it’s the same…or even worse?
In Jeremiah 29 some of God’s chosen people had been forced into exile by King Nebuchadnezzar, from Jerusalem to Babylon. They had been assured by false prophets that the exile would soon end. But the prophet Jeremiah tells them to settle into life as exiles and to pray for the city they live in, to continue having children and practicing their faith. Jeremiah predicts that they will remain in exile for 70 years. But God tells them, through Jeremiah, in verse 11, “I know the plans I have for you…plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future of hope.” Put another way, “I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” (The Message)
So, maybe merely changing the calendar from 2008 to 2009 won’t usher in the resounding change we’re looking for. That isn’t reason for us to become too discouraged. If we can have the patience to wait upon the Lord, God has plans for us – and they’re good ones! That is news that I will be happy to carry with me into 2009.