Have you ever found yourself in a slump?  Just down in the dumps?  Maybe a trauma has occurred.  Or maybe you have been hurt by a person's words.  I think it is safe to say "we've all been there."  But what keeps us there?  Are we making a choice?

This maybe hard to hear, but we do make a choice on our daily outlook.  No one is perfect, but that sunny disposition on your co-worker's face didn't just land there.  She may not have yelled out her bedroom window, "Hello World!  I'm so happy to see you!", but her attitude, choosing to be positive makes all the difference.

For example, I suffer from Chronic Lyme's Disease (sydnilyme.blogspot.com) and spend most of my time in pain or feeling exhausted.  I have lost my ability to drive, so I am fully dependent on others.  I can no longer do daily household chores that involve any lifting, pushing, pulling, or last more than about five to ten minutes.  In addition, I have Depression and Anxiety Disorder.  I know what it feels like to be in the slumps, dumps, and pits of life.  Sometimes it is just so easy to allow myself to stay there.  But to get out of the mud and mire it takes work.  Hard work!

The biggest step is to humble one's self before the Lord.  Whew, that can be hard, but when you do, your life starts changing.  You have to thank God for being Him, thank Him for His Son, thank Him for something He has done for you, and the pray for a change.  Ask Him to lift you from the slump, ask Him for direction, and then follow it!  This is a continued process, at minimum a daily process.  

Then you need to work on the change.  Instead of having a negative outlook on life, try to find at least one positive in your day and thank God for it.  Choose to have a positive attitude...aka. look on the sunny side of life!

Recently my mother cut off two of her fingers while using a table saw.  She took all safety precautions just as her Daddy had taught her.  It was what some call a fluke thing.  Her biggest concern is for people to pity her.  That is the last thing she wants.  Instead she deeply desires that people will praise God that she didn't lose her hand or even her life.  Her attitude is one of a child touched by God's Grace.

We are also touched by God's Grace when we humble ourselves to Him.  When He reaches down into the mud and pulls us out and places our feet on solid ground, we are receiving a gift of His Mercy and Grace.  Don't ignore that, but thank Him for it! 

Presently a friend of mine is battling breast cancer.  She has undergone chemo-therapy, a double mastectomy, removal of various lymph nodes, and reconstructive surgery.  She is facing possible additional surgery and radiation treatments.  Through it all she has never wavered in her faith.  She humbles herself before the Lord and doesn't say "why me?", but "yes Lord," and takes each day in a special light.  

Both of these ladies have every right to be angry at God, to sit in the mud, and turn their faith away from God, but instead they each made a choice to trust in Jesus and know that He will heal them in His time and according to His plan.  

So you have a choice....depression or freedom?  It's not easy and the evil one will try everything he can to turn you away from God, but no matter what, God is always there.  He is a fair God.  He doesn't give us our pain and sorrow, but He can surely take it away.  I challenge you to be strong in the Lord.  Spend time with Him every day.  Let Him be your Heavenly Father and love on you!  Just trust Him!

"For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds." - Jeremiah 30:17

In God's love, Sydni