Life Can Be Sad, Even for Christian Women
Have you ever woken up and just felt down? It takes effort to get out of bed. When you look at your day, does it feel monotonous and mundane? Everything you eat is tasteless. Everything you attempt to do seems pointless. You just want to escape into a constant apathetic slumber.
Sadness is the feeling of gloom, melancholy, and the blues. Traumatic events such as a miscarriage or delivering a stillborn baby can plunge a mom into depression. You may have held your own daughter in your arms as her life drained from her body. You may struggle with a child who has autism. You may be the mom of a defiant, rebellious teenager.
Sadness is emotional pain characterized by the feeling of loss, despair, or helplessness. Sadness is considered to be a short-term lowering of your mood. Depression is when the low mood persists and becomes chronic or unceasing.
Christian Women May Have More Trouble Finding Help for Sadness
As Christians, we know that joy is our strength. We believe that joy comes after the pain of sorrow. So how do we honestly deal with times of sadness?
In a practical sense, sadness may be a result of any of the following:
Fatigue: You may just be overly tired! Stress can cause emotional fatigue. Stressors can range from the loss of a loved one or concern for your finances to loss of a job or worry over your child.
Low Serotonin: Serotonin is a hormone in the body that impacts appetite, sleep, memory, temperature, and mood. Women dealing with depression often have low serotonin levels. Periods of stress often make it difficult to eat right or exercise, which will cause low serotonin in your body.
Loss, Sadness, Depression: Along with physical factors, dwelling on negative thoughts and events can extend sadness. Constant feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and emptiness that persist for weeks and months may be a sign of clinical depression. Seek professional help if depression continues or if suicidal thoughts occur. If these feelings prevent your normal functioning, you may be dealing with clinical depression.
It’s in the seasons of difficulty that we need to remind ourselves about the greater truth. The facts of our circumstances do not always make something true.
Fact Truth
Life can be hard. God is always good.
Life can be painful. God heals our pain.
Life can be disappointing. God never disappoints.
When we experience a significant hardship, we are tempted to believe the facts and miss God’s truth
Help Comes to Every Woman When She Understands the Cross and Resurrection
Just like the scars that marked Jesus after He was crucified, we have been marked by the cruel realities of our fallen world. How do we force this reality to move from our heads to our hearts? Just like the empty tomb, the power of His resurrection is available to each one of us.
The resurrection not only promises eternal joy, it gives us hope for daily life. Every day when the sun goes down at night and then comes up again in the morning, it is the promise of a new day. This daily resurrection sign points to the fact that our sorrow is temporary. Just like daylight melts away the pain of the darkness, the resurrection gives hope for a new beginning. Just as spring follows winter, joy comes after sorrow.
As you remember what Jesus did on the cross for you, also rejoice in the resurrection power available to you this Easter. Jesus triumphed over death so that you and I can live an overcoming life today and forever.
Read more encouragement by Sue Detweiler in Replacing Sadness with Joy
Sue Detweiler, mom of 6, author of 9 Traits of a Life-Giving Mom believes that it is possible to take down the super-mom facade long enough to transform the hidden places of a mom’s heart. Sue admits that she like most moms, has moments where her own unresolved issues come to the surface. What do we do with our own imperfections? Join Sue as she blogs about becoming a Life-Giving Mom by replacing your worst with God’s best. You can connect with Sue at http://www.suedetweiler.com/.
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