There are days that are tough and then there are rainy days. During the latter, the feeling I have is one of being overwhelmed. I am not suggesting that my bad days are worse than yours. I think everyone has days that seem to be a personal living hell. Whatever it is, it is overwhelming! There are no answers, at least not easy ones. There are no solutions, at least not obvious ones. There are few people that can help, or so it seems.
As I struggle with a few of these recently, I have a fresh sense of an ongoing observation and the mantras that help me survive. The observation is one of how one feels. Acknowledging the feeling is helpful, at least for me. David’s words are my words; “Here I am, a nothing – an earthworm, something to step on, to squash.” (Psalm 22.6)
Second, reminding myself and holding onto a series of mantras (truths) helps.
However intense and complete the darkness is, it will never last as long as you think it will. I am not suggesting that the depression is not as intense as it feels. When it hits me, the feeling is totally, completely overwhelming. Life reminds me that as dark as it is, it will not last as long as long as I think it will at the time.
I, we, will survive. Life as we know it may be different. It may change. Regardless of that fact, we will likely survive. Even it in the darkness, getting ready, being prepared is a priority. Life goes on.
Hope and help are closer than we realize. In 1650 an English theologian wrote that the darkest house is just before dawn. Everything is at its lowest ebb before it gets better. Rainy days are like that, even when the storms are relentlessly raging.
As I struggle with dark days, I find myself returning to prayer for a friend coming through surgery, another struggling with the reality of a fatal disease, and a third that feels abandoned. Rain falls on everyone.
