How do I picture the holidays this year? It's definitely different than last year. What is it? Gratefulness.
No, this year hasn't been the best year ever, but no year has been. Whatever your year has been like, incredible or terrible, remember that there's a word that I love reminding myself of. That word is redemption.
Years have always been up and down for everyone. Some people may have the best year of their lives while others consider it the worst. Maybe you wish that you could have redone 2016 again and others may be itching for 2017 to arrive already. Though the toughest year may feel as if it were dragging on the longest you need to be willing to take one day at a time. Hurt easily brings us down into depression and holidays increase the severe pain inside of you.
This is a great time to reach out to God if you haven't already. You see, He already knows the pain you are trudging through. He's hurting too. He understand the deep pain that's sitting inside of us. Is it help you want? Ask Him to. He wants to listen and counsel you. Depression isn't His fault, it's sin's. Sometimes we don't know who to blame for causing our hurt so we automatically get frustrated with God asking Him, "Why?"
Believe it or not, He's hurts more than you. Do you have kids? How painful is it to watch them suffer through stuff? Multiply that times a million. That's how He feels. He understand every pain that is out there in the world. Poverty, depression, anger, grief. He knows it all! And He detests watching us trudge through that. But sometimes He uses our weaknesses to help others struggling with the same issues. We as humans do our best, but without Jesus, we won't grow spiritually and when tough things pops up in our lives, that's where it's the hardest to cling onto Him. But once we show Him that we really need Him to guide us through our lives He will come into your heart immediately.
Yes, life will probably still suck insanely, but it will always be more tolerable with Jesus. His presence is the most reassuring place that you will ever experience. You see, with the Holy Spirit, you have a shield that protects you from the pain getting unbearable. His love covers the cracks that sin has broken while He heals it. Like an infected wound, it stings to clean it out, but once it is, it heals completely new. But with His healing, by the end there are no scars. There's no pain deep inside. Bitterness and depression are forgotten. But, at the same time, He leaves some memories with us so we are able to relate with other people and mentor them.
