What to do with the Blues

I am not going to lie. I have been a bit on the blue side of things lately.

Friends moved (four in the last four months and more in the last year), my church is changing (the unknown is difficult and exciting), I still haven’t heard a definitive answer from a publisher and an agent about my book, I have big dreams that seem to be going no where, and I have been regularly working out for over a month and not losing any weight.

But the truth is somewhat different. Friends moved and I miss them, but I didn’t lose them. They are just not easy to access. My church is changing but that means God is moving. When God moves it can be painful for a season, but this always brings us closer to Him. My book has not found a home yet, but that gives me opportunities to try other things. God must prepare me for the big dream, I can’t handle it now, but I must be obedient to do what He calls me to do day by day. I seriously have no answer to the weight loss issue. I don’t think I am eating more, but I am working out more. . . And no it isn’t just adding muscle, I’ve thought about that. . .

Yet the blues remain. I cannot see what God is doing during this dark time, but I know He is working. A.W. Tozer in his book God’s Pursuit of Man said that in the times we feel small that is when God can do great things. Yes when we are small and sad and dependent on God then He can move in mighty ways. There is hope in the midst of the blue, smallness.

So maybe this blue time is the beginning of something big – something God-sized. Instead of looking at these blue times as something bad to be avoided perhaps we need to see them as God-ordained so we can draw nearer to Him.

The other truth I discovered during this blue time is when I am blue I get wrapped up in me. I almost cannot see the people around me. They each have stories to share, hope to offer, or even need help I can give. Somehow sharing my story, my wisdom, my money with someone else pulls me out of the blues. Not only that but often as I share my story, I am blessed by other stories.

Perhaps in our blue times if we look for others, connect with others, share with others our blues will not consume us. Maybe that is what God wants us to do with the blues connect so we aren’t consumed.

What do you do when you have the blues? How do you handle them?