Tug of War - HOPE

Recently while I was having one of my thinking moments, I pictured tug of war. First, it was in regards to our son, I think. Sometimes it feels as if he has crossed a great divide. There is still a rope that connects us, but there is a large divide and there are days we seem to be standing on opposite sides.

The other word that keeps popping up in my head and in things I've read is: HOPE. Maybe we see what we need to see when God thinks we need to see it. Maybe we just become more aware.

On a grander scale than just our home, I am picturing God and me on one side of the rope. Facing the chasm and a world that seems to be slipping further into the dark. I am praying that God continues to use me, to use us, to pull people over to the side of light toward HOPE. Where we realize we don't have to do everything on our own. We don't have to be perfect or "normal". We just pull.

The more I think about it. Sometimes God tugs at our hearts. Not loudly. Just a little nudge to remind us to spend more time in prayer and reflection. With family and friends.  On a good day it is just a little tug, a reminder. On the other days, I think God will do what He needs to do until He gets our attention!

Romans 5:4 (MSG)

There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! 

 

Lamentations 3:25-27 (MSG)

^25-27 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
    to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
    quietly hope for help from God.
It’s a good thing when you’re young
    to stick it out through the hard times.

 

1 Peter 3:15 (NIV) Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

The Pit and Hope: The Rock

I have had these thoughts rattling around in my head for awhile now. Trying to decide the best way to write them...and not step on toes....or sound preachy. However, sometimes I need preachy...and my toes stepped on to wake me up....so do with the following what you will (praying that you find some answers to whatever you may going through too!):

Now that I know more about anxiety and depression, I have little doubt that I have dealt with both for most of my life. Well, at least from 7th grade on for sure that I remember. Over the years, I have found help with counseling and medication. Over the years, I have struggled because, as a Christian, I SHOULD be able to beat this with God's help, right? Ahhhh, the infamous SHOULD. grrrrr.

I believe depression is probably different for each person. For me, on the really bad days...when I feel like I don't even want to get out of bed....or even after sleeping LOTS, I do not feel rested. I would probably describe the feeling as being in a pit. It's dark, dank, DEPRESSING! The worst thing is that it FEELS like there is no way out without digging deeper. It doesn't feel like falling. Just stuck. In emotional muck and mire. At the bottom. Trapped with thoughts of everything I've ever done wrong. trapped on the hamster wheel of perfectionism or wasted time or, or, or.

There have been references to pits in the Bible. Some physical (Joseph: Genesis 37 ). Some mental: Lamentations 3:55-57 I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.” You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.”

A couple of things I do know...and on a good day, remember: The pit has a bottom so I don't continue to dig deeper. There is a firm rock foundation. I am not in the pit alone. I have family and friends that support me and help me feel better about myself and my circumstances.

In the meantime, I will be grateful for the pit-less days. I will be thankful for hope on the rock of God where I can stand and gaze over, but not fall in. 

Psalm40:2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

 Lamentations 3:19-26 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.