March 28, 2010

I wrote this a few years ago for someone special who was depressed....

Snow is cascading down from billowy white clouds bursting with precipitation. The wind is low, the sky is gray, and the general feeling in the air is bitter. Your heart is chilled, your mind is frozen; you are cold down to your very soul. The coveted rainbow is only a distant memory in your mind and no longer a comfort to your soul. The peace you once felt, the joy you once enjoyed, the warmth of the sunshine are now replaced by utter emptiness and despair. Desire for what was never to be fills your mind and concentrating on anything else is impossible.

The pounding you once heard is now distant and slower. So slow that at times you forget that you have ever heard it before. The longing for things missed is eating at you leaving you unable to pull yourself forward to your goal. To even remember what that goal was takes immense effort and concentration, and in reality it no longer seems like a viable option so deep is the hurt. The pull towards utter bleakness is strong, but so far it is not as strong as you. It would have taken so little effort to have missed this path and not trod down this narrow road, but we are not always in command and our vision is not always accurate. The desires of our heart too often outweigh the common sense that we hold so dear. Then, there are those who helped us to come down this path not understanding that there are more joyous ones to take; roads with much, much less pain and definitely more joy.

There is no time frame, no clock, and no alarm to tell you that it is time to leave. You determine the length of your stay here. You can remain in this frozen ugly pit or you can choose to climb out. It takes effort, desire, and unwillingness to settle for something less than what you deserve to leave this bitter hurt behind. The promises of God are abundantly waiting on you. This is not where you need to dwell. You have a place. You have a purpose. you have a future. To what extent you partake of this is up to you.

With great effort you feel the chains that were around your heart and your limbs begin to fall. With each clank of metal your spirit rises. The clouds are not as gloomy. The hurt is not quite so bad. A memories of joyful times begin to seep back in. A ray of light begins to crack through.

There is an end to this. There is joy around the corner and hope in the future. You have to believe. You have to want. You have to take that step forward and leave the past what it is...the past. It will always be a part of who you are and who you will be, but if you trust it will be a small part and not the most prominent one in your life. The joy is waiting. Take the step.