Thankful Thursday

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Today, I want to share with y'all that I'm so very thankful for the Lord's mercy....and grace....and understanding....and LOVE!!!

I read a post on a blog just this week about depression.  One day last week I saw this as a status on Facebook.....

 "DEPRESSION is not a sign of weakness. 

It is a sign that you have been trying to be strong for too long."

I've alluded to the fact here on my blog that I suffer from depression.  It's always been so terribly difficult for me to admit that.  I talked with my doctor about it....and I'm so blessed to have a Christian doctor....who has even prayed with me.  She told me that it's sometimes very hard for a Christian to handle being depressed because they think....that because they are a Christian....that they shouldn't even get depressed.  

That's exactly how I feel.  

Like what kind of Christian am I if I get depressed!

I've learned that a lot of the time, depression can be a chemical, or hormonal imbalance.

For most of my life, I've just not felt worthy.  

I know that's probably a silly way to feel, for lack of a better word to explain it.  I know that God loves me, and a lot of things that bother me and depress me....really shouldn't.  But...when somebody is going thru a time of depression....and you have somebody telling you to "snap out of it"....or "this, too will pass"....or "just don't worry about it".....well, those kinds of statements often make the situation worse.  If you've never suffered from depression....then, it's terribly difficult to even explain how you feel when you're in the middle of it.  Looking back on it....it just seems like you're in a dark place....maybe with a dark cloud hanging over your head!!!

Anyway....my depression has gone (without the use of medication, thank the Lord).

Oh, yeah, there are still times that I get a bit down...and anxious...but the dark cloud has lifted and I see light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm hoping and praying that it doesn't return.  I truly believe that the reason my depression is gone....is because my husband laid hands on me and prayed over me.  Please know that I'm in no way telling you that this is gonna work for everybody who is depressed....but in my own case....I know in my heart....this worked for me.

Now....to the even longer part....as you know Pappy and I are reading the Bible thru together this year.  We are still in the Book of Psalms....and as I read Psalm 139 in the New Living Translation.....I felt God speaking to me about my depression....and my low self esteem....so....just in case any of you reading this has stuck with me this far.....and especially if any of you suffer from depression, too....then, I hope that these words from Psalm 139 speak to you just like they do me. 

Psalm 139:1-19 (NLT)

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.  You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do.  You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.  You  go before me and follow me.  You place your hand of blessing my head (I love that part because it reminds me of when Pappy prayed over me).  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!  I can never escape from your Spirit!  I can never get away from your presence!  If I go up to heaven, you are there;  if I go down to the grave, you are there.  If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.  I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to  become night - but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.  To you the night shines as bright as day.  Darkness and light are the same to you.  You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out  before a single day had passed.  How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.   They cannot be numbered!  I can't even count them;  they outnumber the grains of sand!  And When I wake up, you are still with me!   

23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart;  test me and know my anxious thoughts (anxious thoughts describe me so well).  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Thursday Blessings to each of 'ya!!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!