Girl, I had one of those days today. You know the kind. H-A-R-D-! It’s been rough just getting through it. The truth is I have so many coals in the fire that at times I can’t determine whether I’m “down” or just sleepy. As you know, when we get tired, all sorts of physical things get out of whack – including our moods. So when I feel like this, I yell in my spirit “God take my life please. This day is Crap!”

Because life can be just too much on a normal day – when I’m “off”, it’s even more cumbersome and burdensome. Hey, I have too much going on to fall apart now. I can’t afford it! Days like today, when I feel crappy, I feel I’m drowning in it all – life, work, ministry and family.

I read on the “Healthline” site that:

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source, 1 in 3 adults in the United States don’t get enough sleep. The CDCTrusted Source further reports that people who get less than seven hours of sleep a night are more likely to report 10 common chronic health conditions — including depression — than people who get more than seven hours.”

Yeah, so it’s hard for me to differentiate depression from just tiredness. Have you ever had times in your life you couldn’t tell what was going on too?

To be clear, I’m not clinically depressed. I just experience moderate depression from time to time – just like everyone else. It’s important, to me, I state that because clinical depression is physiologically complex and requires professional help. If you have dogged depression, please see someone with solid credentials to help you. You have work to do in this life. You are needed and you are loved.

For my “God take my life please” moments, I have a system.

You’ll notice I omitted a comma in my title phrase: “God take my life please.” This is intentional for the search engines. I’m not enslaved to search engines, but it does help wonderful women like you find GodsyGirl.

OK. Get yourself a system, too, for your”God take my life please” moments.

My system almost always works because it is logical and functional – two of my favorite things in life! It’s my personality.

My process re-charges me to get through the day. Actually, I can’t even think past the current day. In those times, worrying about the week is too much. Have you ever felt that way, Christian woman? Please, tell me I’m not alone.

Anyway, here is what helps me every single time, I hope it helps you too.

1. I call a “trusty” friend for prayer and support. You know what I mean by trusty, don’t you? That’s the friend that knows just about everything going on in your life and consistently supports and loves on you. I guess I could have just said “trustworthy”, but I like making up words…like “Godsy.” 🙂

2. I workout – well, sometimes. I like to pop in my “Walk Away the Pounds” DVD and sweated a bit (I should feel “draggy” more often! Maybe I’d lose those fifteen pounds!) Full disclosure: at times, “veg” out. I need to exercise every time I’d down though. I need those chemicals to be released in my brain.

Feed your spirit

3. I load the praise and worship and let it rip! This is important because when you worship, you forget your problems. It’s a mystery to me exactly why, but it’s so true. As you exalt God; life’s woes just seem to shrink in comparison to His awesomeness. Worship, Girl!!! Turn on praise music whether you want to hear it or not! For me, that is slow music that calms my spirit. I save Andy Mineo for another time.

4. I pray. I just spend some time alone with the Lord and I tell Him all about the chaos. This is my “unfiltered” time. I’m not trying to “sound good” or be “deep”, I’m just downloading and emptying myself so He may fill me with His peace. I wait on Him…I breathe and receive His comfort almost instantly. This may be a lunch hour I sit in my car at the park or in a bathroom stall at work.

5. “You’re allowed”. On the days, I’m gentle with myself. It may sound weird, but I give myself permission to be just “blah.”

No need for me to walk around “chipper” all the time. It’s okay to have a “down” day. Don’t you agree?

You’re human!

The key is not to live there or stay in that sad place. Go ahead, allow yourself to feel what you feel when you feel it -but, again, don’t camp there. Sigh, cry, and recover, Christian woman.

Another consideration is, of course, hormones. You can feel “down” for a very logical reason and you know what that is.

The next time you feel completely down, overwhelmed or frazzled, say “God take my life please’ and help me to focus on you, to look for the simple blessings, and to take care of myself.”

P.S. One of my favorite young ladies at the Church sent me an amazing email of encouragement on the day I was feeling down…just for no reason! That really ministered to both me and my hubby! Love you Sierra! Remember, blessings like these are all around us, we just have to look for them!

Update: Sierra is now a pastor’s wife too. Wild, right? God always has a plan.

If you are not a Christian…

Of course, you’re going to feel “down” most of the time!

You’re disconnected! You have no source of happiness and fulfillment beyond what you see. Inside you is a deep-seated hope, cry, and longing for God to be real. I want to tell you He is real and He loves you so much.

He’s not mad at you. He longs for and yearns for a relationship with you … beyond what you can conceptualize. He’s not going to force Himself on you.

Still, He desires fellowship with you. He longs to take your life and make something worthwhile and beautiful from it. You’re amazing in His eyes. You’re beautiful to Him.

No matter who you are. Regardless of what you’ve done, He loves you and wants you anyway. Don’t turn Him away.

That little something in the pit of your tummy that says “something is missing from my life” is there for a reason. The “more” exists and can be found in Jesus Christ.

Accept Him into your life: simply say “God take my life please” and He will. You’ve tried everything else anyway. He’s what will work…if you work the relationship.