Not mountain Nor Valley

I started this blog as a way to out my creativity, sharing stories, poems, and other ideas. Sometimes I feel like there is a dry spell over my thoughts, like anything I can think of is dumb and not worth sharing. I try my best to let people see a better view of Christians, and to share my art with the world in hopes someone out there might might be helped, inspired, or benefit in some way of my musings and ramblings. When I look back at what I have written I see a trend of dreams and authenticity that I really would love to see everyone reach.

In one of my more recent blogs, and ones before as well, I said God wants us to have our dreams to the fullest, and he is willing to do whatever he can to make it happen, when the time is right. God does love us but so many things can keep us from being who we are meant to be and who we dream to be. Things like stress.

Stress builds up in us and eventually it erupts into a volcano of broken trusts, dead friendships, and hurt feelings. And the worst part is stress comes from just about everything. You get stressed at work, home, church, playing games, watching TV. Everywhere you turn, you are bombarded by stress and things that want to stress you more. I bet some people will argue with me, and some might agree, but even doing what God wants us to do gives us stress.

When we think "God wants me to do what?" we begin to worry, we begin to be stressed out. We think we have to do so much on our own, and we quickly lose what God wants us to do and replace it with something a little more twisted. I know I am this way. I don't want to leave my comforts and have to worry about where I am going to sleep or where I am going to get some food. I like my comfort, but God wants us to trust him, so the lack of comfort creates stress and He alone is a great stress relief.

I know when I start thinking about what God might actually want me to do, I right away start saying things like "I can't do that. I am not good enough to do that." And any number of things that put me back down instead of letting myself get picked up into God's story. It is hard for me to keep in my head, but there in Him, you can let the stress finally have a little rest as you are filled with the comfort of Jesus.

Depression also often keeps us from achieving that real us. Not just, "Woe is me, my boy/girl-friend broke up with me!" but a depression deep inside ourselves that never feels good enough. Never can see the light in the dark because we feel alone, broken, scared, insecure. Depression is a very real and very serious problem for all people. I find myself losing my temper more when I am feeling depressed. Some people feel the only way to end it is with the end of their lives. Depression really is a feeling of being pressed down by force.

Stress and depression are a very closely related issue that arises in our everyday, chase the American Dream lives. We are told to work harder, work faster, that we are expendable, that our ideas aren't good enough, that we have dry spells that keep us from things we love to do and the all will boil down to over stressed and deep depression. That is if we don't let God lead us through the darkness.

God has eyes that can pierce any darkness, and a heart that loves so far beyond anything we can imagine. In our eyes, the greatest love you can have for anyone else is willingly laying down your life for them. Which truly is a great and marvelous love, considering this is the type of love God showed to us while we were still horrible and unlovable people. But God's love goes much farther beyond this, to a love so full and pure and yet my words are failing to capture anything close to that love.

Sure God is above all things, but he still wants to be with all the things he created. But we keep ourselves distant with stress, worrying, depression, anger, jealousy, and hate. Though we keep pushing away, God is trying everyday to reach right to our hearts. In the stars, in the flowers, in the depths of the oceans, to the highest peaks, he wants each of us to come to Him willingly.

Stress and depression isn't going to stop being a problem until God finally comes with an end and a new beginning. But He has given us ways to reduce the pain, ease our hearts, and learn to be happy again. Jesus will be with us, the Spirit will pray on our behalf when we are without words in our prayers, God will be waiting like a father as his child takes those first shaky steps toward him.

Together in love and friendship, the Church can be a big brother or sister in supporting the young ones as life throws mountain after valley that we need to cross. Together we can show the world that Christ has come. We can show them a glimpse of the love God has for us. That when life is hard, we are most crushed, that we have the ability to shine the brightest.