"Tropical Depression"

Have you ever been going about normal everyday life doing routine things when it seems something has shifted somewhere and it all is off kilter?

Let me put it this way.

You're doing your thing. You get up, have coffee, get dressed, and go on your way. You have a job to go to, errands to run and things to get done. It's what you do. Each day. It's your life.

But one day, there seems to be something different happening. Things aren't going smoothly. Your boss is more hateful than usual. Your workload is twice is big. Your spouse seems distant. Your kids are fighting and they all hate you. You find extra bills in the mail and your car breaks down when you need it the most.

What happened?

I hate to use the old cliche of "that's life", but sometimes that's what you have to chalk it up to.

This has happened to me many times over the years. Maybe not all of those things at the same time, but several of them at once, and it's hard to deal with. What usually happened when things like that bombarded me was, I got depressed.

It's true.

Depression is a very real occurence and at a point in all of our lives, everyone deals with it. If they are honest, they will tell you about it. If they pretend to have perfect lives, they will lie to you and say they've never gone through it.

I'm not talking full-fledged depression where you have to have medicines to make through a day. I'm saying it could be that, but it could also be a couple of hours or days of feeling inadequate as a parent, a spouse, a friend or even a human. You don't have to be holding a gun to your head to be depressed, There are stages of the ailment that vary from feeling anxious or irritable and having problems sleeping to the third stage which is manic depression and it can lead to suicide.

But for most of us, if we are honest with each other, we all go through the first stage at times.

I like to call it my "tropical depression" stage. Where I'm so stressed about things in my life, I find myself wishing I was in the tropics, lol. I'm not downplaying depression nor making fun at all. Trust me, I've been through all the stages and it's NOT a laughing matter. I'm just trying to be honest and share my experiences with you so that you will know you're not alone in life.

Anyway, my "tropical depression" stage is much like that of a tropical depression that occurs in nature. When a cluster of thunderstorms come together under just the right circumstances for long enough with just the right amount of wind blowing, a tropical depression is born.

So, if the events mentioned above with the kids, the car, the bills, the boss and spouse all come together at just the right time, they will turn into a "tropical depression". In and of themselves, they are all little storms that we weather on most days like champs. But on days when conditions are just right and they all combine, it can lead to an all out storm, leaving you devastated and feeling inadequate as a human being or a parent.

Most of us bounce back from those small calamities with no harm done, but if we let them go and allow them to become bigger without dealing with them, they can turn into a hurricane within a period of days to weeks. And unfortunately, we all know the damage a true hurricane can do as we've watched what happened to Florida and Texas the last couple of weeks.

Well, the mental "hurricane" can do much damage to your life as well if you don't take precautions to guard yourself and your family against it.

I turned on the news one day to see a couple of homeowners in Florida boarding up windows and preparing for the ensuing storm. I had a friend once in that state who showed me his hurricane preparation supplies. He had huge screens to pull down on his lanai to protect his glass doors, he had heavy shutters with sturdy locks that secured his windows and some type of fabric that he rolled down in his atrium to protect the pool and hot tub area. He'd put a lot of thought and planning into protecting what belonged to him. I was in amazement at the time and money he'd spent to keep what he had safe and unharmed.

He knew that a tropical depression or storm wouldn't do much damage, but he also knew that at any time, those could turn into a hurricane and destroy what had taken him years to build. So with his common sense, he made the decision to protect it all in case something suddenly came to threaten his home.

We need to be the same way in our daily lives. There will be storms that come each day. I promise you, they will. There are problems that we ALL face. Mine is different from yours and yours are different from the next person, but you will have them as well.

The key to surviving the storms is to have some type of protection in place for when they come so you and your home is not destroyed.

For me, the key to surviving a storm or one of my "tropical depressions" is prayer. Being able to run to God for help in my times of trouble is the only way I can be sure to make it through any crisis I face. I am forty-nine years old and unfortunately, I'm just now learning that in my life. I wish I had known and understood in my younger years what prayer could really do for me. I have found that when something comes at me, all I have to do is close my eyes and call on God for help. His Word tells me that he is a very present help in trouble. So that gives me a feeling of security knowing that no matter what I'm facing, He's right there to help me with it all.

Like the screens and shields my friend put up at his house in case of storms, I have found God to be my shield from the storm when my mind or home is threatened.

Let Him be that for you, too. When life has you surrounded with dark clouds and the winds of confusion are blowing, turn to Him for protection. I promise He will help you.

I can't finish the blog without addressing this area that has been brought to my attention.

I was told that I share too much of my life. LOL

Isn't that what a testimony is?

The definition is a public recounting of a religious conversion.

Ta Da!! There you go. I am simply giving my testimony to those who may need it.

My goal in these blogs and my writing is to help women who have been in or are going through similiar circumstances and need a word of encouragement to get through. So if it seems I share too much, then so be it. I can't give my testimony without sharing the "test".

So, having said that, I want to say that I wish I had known how to pray and seek God at an early age in my life. Maybe if I had, I would still have my family in tact. I know I would have made different choices when it came to some of the things I did over the years. But hindsight is 20/20 and I can't change the past. I can only go forward and share my experiences with you. I pray that you can listen to my testimony and see where I've gone wrong in life and maybe let it prevent you from making the same bad choices.

All I can say in the end is this. When the storms of life come, run to God in prayer. Don't allow them to become a "tropical depression" or a hurricane and destroy what you've worked so hard to build.

I love you all and I want you to succeed in your daily lives. I know that without God, there is no true success.

Much love,

Christy

Helpful verses:

Psalm 18:2

The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.