Strength

       When depression hits, it's really hard for me to think positively. I would usually let it take me over until it passed because I got so exhausted from fighting it. Automatic negative thoughts will enter my mind like, 'This is where I will stay in life. You'll never find someone. This is your destiny.' I wouldn't even bother to challenge them because they sounded so logical to me. These thoughts still plague me everyday but lately I've been taking strength from the book of James. It mentions that you can find happiness amidst your darkest trials in life. It's so easy to forget that as a christian, this is not my true home. This too shall pass. I long to be with my heavenly Father. But I will wait because he wants me here for some purpose. Maybe part of my purpose is to impart my experiences onto others who are going through depression and pray that they find comfort in that they are not alone. Things could be much worse. So many of the bible's heroes went through depression and they faced much more adversity than I will ever experience. Job and Elijah are just two examples. Job lost nearly everything he held dear and still he did not lose faith. His wife begged him to curse God and die but he did not. Elijah had to stand before eight hundred and fifty prophets! And he faced many more adversities which would take too long to list and explain in this post. My point is that without God, Job and Elijah would have failed miserably in taking on their troubles. They cast all their troubles and anxieties on The Lord. I admit that I had not been doing that because I would wait and expect to feel better. But the truth is that by just sitting there, you will not feel better. All you're doing is stirring in your own depression. You have to read and meditate on the bible and find hope in that. It has truly made me happy just thinking about heaven and meeting all these bible heroes. To me, it's really fun and interesting to think about. When I think about it, I feel that everything will be alright eventually. Just put all your worries and anxieties on Christ