How do you feel when someone cheerfully tells you to have a Merry Christmas when you feel anything but merry?
There are many reasons why people may not feel joyful.
Some are suffering devastating illnesses or injuries.
Some are grieving the loss of people precious to them.
Some are living in fear and turmoil in unstable homes or even in the midst of war.
Some are homeless or hungry.
What do you do when you don’t fit in any of those categories and yet you are not feeling merry?
There is every indication you are completely blessed and yet you still feel sad?
Little things annoy you. You feel like you can’t cope with the smallest life problem.
You feel like you have somehow been knocked out of orbit and you are removed from everyone else.
You hate the short days. You feel like you live in a cave. Spring seems years away.
You think of heaven a lot. It sounds good. But you are not there yet. You are here, and it kind of scares you that you want to be there soon.
You are a Christian and so your inability to feel the joy of the season seems like a moral failure.
You thank God He is with you. You apologize for not being joyful.
Depression is a serious problem. It can happen any time, but there are those of us who battle it in the short, dark days of winter.
I tried all kinds of remedies, none of which worked. I cried out to God for help. He began His Response in a very unique way. He gave me tears.
I have Sjorgrens Syndrome. I won’t depress you by recounting all the ways this autoimmune condition can affect a person. But one of them is that your tears dry up. Even when you want to cry, you can’t.
As I was reviewing my frustrations (again, in reality, very small compared to what others are enduring), God spoke softly.
He said, “I am here.”
He put His Arms around me and cried. Just as Jesus wept with Mary and Martha when they believed Lazarus was dead, He wept with me.
And my long absent tears trickled down my face.
He didn’t ask me to come to Him. He came to me. He entered that place of my grief and stayed with me, reminding me again that we are together in whatever happens on earth or in heaven.
I stayed in His Embrace and received His Comfort … the kind nothing in this world can give.
I received His Peace … unlike the kind the world tries to give.
For however many minutes, He suspended time. Worries went away. I was still. I knew He was God and I was not.
I felt my powerlessness melt into His Power.
And then I got up, to face another round of winter.
If you are depressed, talk to God about it. He already knows everything you are going through, but He will listen to you tell your story your way.
He will comfort you. He will pour out His Love for you and fill every empty place.
Then listen carefully. He will tell you what to do next.
He is indeed God with you, now and always.
I have loved you with an Everlasting Love.
Jeremiah 31:3
Be sure of this. I am with you always!
