How can I be joyful right now?

Finding joy and gratitude in the doom and gloom

I battle depression. It's nothing new. I've had it for a long time. I manage it well, mostly. But to be honest, it's kind of difficult now. I mean, seriously, look around. It's scary out there. My two kids are home from school indefinitely. That makes it scary in here. We can't go out. We can't visit friends. We can't leave. We are stuck, trapped.

We are fearful of the disease spreading, and rightly so.

But rather than letting myself fall into the depression trap, I'm choosing joy. It's not easy. It's actually really hard. It's easy to curl up on the couch and watch tv all day. It's easy to nap all day. It's easy to snack all day. But being joyful? Being thankful? It sounds crazy. I know.

We have two choices right now.

Worry, panic, and despair or rejoice, pray, and be thankful.

If we choose to worry, panic, and despair, nothing will change. It's a promise. We can't worry this situation away. We can't panic it away. And despair has never improved anything. It will make it worse though. It will open up a door for even worse things. Don't open that door.

"Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life" Matthew 6:27

But we can rejoice. We can pray. And we can be thankful.

Thankful for this? This mess? YES!

This is a gift from God. It is. How many times have you said, "If I only had more time, I would..." or " I just need some time to rest, then...." or "The kids are growing so fast, I wish we had more time together so we could...." We have that time now. We have that rest now. We have that togetherness. Let's rejoice in that! I mean, really. There is joy in this. This is the gift! Let's be thankful. Thankful that even in this unsettled time, God is here, and God is using it. He is giving us all what we've always asked for. He is taking something that is evil, something that is meant to scare, separate, and destroy and using it for His good!

Today, even as I worked from home and tried to make one kid a hamburger for lunch while yelling at the other to do his chores, I had the chance to spend some great time with my kids. And when I put away the laptop, we had even more fun. I taught my daughter about editing photography. I played a video game with my son. We built ramps and walls and raced our remote control cars all around the house. We are tackling projects that I've put off for months....even years. We are laughing and enjoying each other. And no, we are not that perfect little family with the colored-coded chore wheels and time management plans. My son spends way too much time in his room on his computer. My daughter has been complaining non-stop. My husband is antsy and wants to go to all of the places we can't go. And now he wants to remodel the entire upstairs (ummm...no. Not now thank you). But that's okay. Because in this mess we have each other. And I am thankful for that. I rejoice in that.

And I rejoice in the knowledge that when those anxious and depressed thoughts creep back in, I can go to Him in prayer. I know He will comfort me. And I'm not worried because truly I tell you, He is in this. He is using this. He is in control. And He will protect us.

So now more than ever, I cling to this verse:

"Rejoice Always. Pray Continually. Give thanks in all circumstances;

for this is God's will for you in Jesus Christ" 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Keep finding the light...