Yesterday I had lunch with a couple of friends. One of them had a couple of comments.
"Jeff, anyone who looks at you and your life would wonder what the heck you have to complain about."
Good point. I can't disagree. I have no reason to have the blues. There is no good reason. My problems are boring.
He said something else to me that really struck a chord, "so what are you going to do about these blues?"
Well, that is a good question. When you have the blues, you just sort of wallow in them. You think and commiserate about what ever you think is bothering you. But it usually doesn't occur to you to do something about it. The blues just happened to you and you think that they will go away by them selves. You know, it's like you are a victim of the blues and they are a freeloading cousin that you hope will leave, but you don't know when.
Enter the comment. "What are you going to do about these blues?" Well, that reminds me of a simple truth that I need to be thinking about. Here it is: Seeing the good does not come naturally or easily to many of us, most of the time. Seeing the good is a choice.
So what can we do about the blues? Maybe the answer is simply to stop wallowing in them, stop giving them room in your life and just choose to see the good. See the good. See the good. It is there.
And here is the closing statement: It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
5 comments:
How I handle the blues--usually in the evening when the "blues" really sets in, I put on my favorite sad songs, turn up the volume to a tolerable level, lay on the floor and "give in"--just cry. Cry like a baby. Let it out.
When the carpet is so wet you can't stand it anymore and you feel cried out, put on some Gospel music. Praise the Lord and thank him for all that you have to be thankful for and the blues should start to go away--til next time. ; )
sometimes we have to wade through them... something a very smart person taught me many years ago though is that when we are thinking inwardly about our self and our problems, we get depressed When we are actively doing something to help someone else it lifts us up. remember the acronym
Jesus First
Others inbetween
Yourself last
I think you have plenty of reasons to feel the blues sometimes. You are human, for one. Each of your children have left home. Your wife travels frequently. You are in a lonely profession -- an amazing, but difficult to understand profession. One that might cause you to "feel funny" at times.
Now, I know you are probably arguing with me in your head. All the great things you have in your life. I agree that you are a blessed man. But that doesn't mean it is easy to invalidate some of the sorrows of life.
I also know that we Christians in the suburbs have a tendency to discredit our blues by thinking of all the greater struggles around the world. And this is a good thing. It is good to remember there are plenty of others who have "real" problems.
But I watched a documentary once about some Lost Boys from Africa. As children, they endured some of the worst possible evils of this world. But they endured with each other with a profound sense of community and love that enriched their lives deeply despite their horrible circumstances.
Later, some church groups joined with the government to bring many of the Lost Boys to the United States. Their circumstances became drastically better, but they were deeply impacted by the isolation and loss of community in this country.
I am not saying we should feel sorry for ourselves. Just that it is easy for American Christians to say "I shouldn't be sad. I have so much!" But sometimes it has come at great cost. Sometimes the people that have so little have learned to have such great joy.
I hope to learn this one day. In the meantime, I am frequently depressed for no reason. I try to see the good, and I fail. I try again, and I fail. It doesn't help me to invalidate my feelings. But my feelings lead me to search for the good -- that is, in a way, to search for God. And this is a good search. Even when I find just the slightest slither of a hint, there is joy there.
The blues: maybe it's just joy waiting to happen. I've never felt such joy as the moment the fog is lifted and the good appears again. Keep looking. Keep waiting.
What are you going to do about those blues? Good question!
I hope you serve a meal at Westport; go hammer some nails at Habitat; sort clothes in the Clothing Closet; clean an apartment at Hillcrest; dispense some pills in Jamaica; buy some gifts for needy children at Christmas; stuff a grocery sack with food for Thanksgiving....wow, the list goes on and on.....!
When you turn your focus outwards instead of inwards - it's amazing how fast those blues will go away and how good you'll feel.
Works for me, anyway!
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
— Marianne Williamson
I love sharing my "light" with you! I'll be smiling at you and after the Gospel Choir sings tomorrow, you'll be full of "light"!
Did you know we love sharing our sunshine with you! It's a blessing for all of us.
Bless you!
Cara
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