Upbeat!

I’ve always considered myself to be an upbeat person.  I think that it was one of the many reasons that Piper and I were drawn to each other in high school… because we were so much alike in so many ways!  The saying that “opposites attract” surely didn’t work in our relationship!  The biggest potential problem… at least from our parent’s point of view, was my Catholic background verses Piper’s Protestant/Baptist upbringing.

I remember Piper telling me after our engagement announcement, that her dad’s only concern was that I was a Catholic.  Which was a little weird now that I think about it… as she and I had been seriously dating for over three years by then and I had been regularly attending their church.  Piper and I were leaders in the College-Career group and I was well known and accepted in the church, from the Pastor, to the various church boards, to the members of the congregation.

My family’s most difficult dilemma with Piper was the way she openly and honestly lived her faith.  Everyone in both the family and extended family loved her encouraging smile and loving personality but… some were not comfortable with her talking about Jesus.  It wasn’t as if she was trying to get everyone saved, for as I continually mention, her faith was just a natural part of who she was.  Jesus’ name just sort of popped out of her mouth in her every day, normal conversation.

But as good Catholics… we had been taught that our faith was a very private thing and one never mentioned the name of Jesus without some sign of reverence… which was something that my mom repeatedly reminded me of during Piper’s and my dating and early marriage days.  I still vividly recall the priests around the church or the nuns that were our teachers in Parochial School making the sign of the cross, bowing their heads or even genuflecting when His name was spoken.

I though, was hungry for more of God and was thoroughly captivated by Piper’s relationship with Christ and her overall Christian faith… and I wanted the same thing that she had!  The way she excitedly talked about Jesus… you could say in modern vernacular… “blew me away” in a most positive way.  Obviously, I had the total opposite reaction to Piper’s open faith than did some others in my family. 

The funniest thing about our family’s early concerns was that in the later years of our marriage, the tables began to turn with the way they demonstrated their faith.  As the symptoms of Alzheimer’s progressed in Piper, it was the members of my immediate family as well as extended family members that I depended on for their agreement in faith, spiritual support and encouragement.

With our upbeat personalities, Piper and I never had much dealings in our personal lives with depression.  I’m not saying that we weren’t tempted at times, but we learned early on to depend more on what God’s Word said about our situation and to trust in His solutions than waste time in allowing ourselves to be depressed.  And believe me when I say, that I have had plenty of opportunities to give in to its destructive suggestions since Piper’s homegoing three years ago.

I’ve always believed that depression is driven by fear and fear is one thing that Piper and I honed our spiritual sensors over the years to spot and quickly repel before it has any entrance into our lives.  After all, the scripture does tell us, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2Timothy 1:7 – KJV) 

When depression tries to push its way into my life, I’ve trained myself to speak out and believe for the soundness of mind that God offers me and command the confusing, fear infused lies that the enemy of my faith… and of my life for that matter… is trying to get me to agree with… to depart for me!

During similar situations and temptations in life, the Psalmist prayed to the Lord, “Help me turn my eyes away from illusions so that I pursue only that which is true; drench my soul with life as I walk in your paths.” (Psalm 119:37 - The Passion Translation) 

The Apostolic Bible Polyglot Greek-English Interlinear Bible states this verse as, “Turn my eyes to not behold folly! (other translations say “worthless things”, “vanity” or “foolish desires”)  Enliven me in Your way.”  According to Thayer’s, the word “enliven” means “to enjoy real life, active and blessed, endless in the kingdom of God (or within His way of doing things), to be full of vigor, fresh, strong and efficient.”

I’m sure that all of us have seen or have personal experience with people who were in the throes of depression… and they tend to exhibit none of the above descriptions… do they?  The above scriptures give us some very viable tools to employ when the attacks of depression knock on our front (or back) doors.  They tell us to take our eyes off of the lying illusions or worthless things that lead us into fear, resulting in worry or anxiety and instead… and to “drench” our souls with life, as we focus on the truth of God’s Word… which tell of His ways!

I’ll take God’s upbeat, enlivened, fresh, strong and full of vigor ways for my life over anything that attempts to depress me.  HOW ABOUT YOU?

I pray that the rest of your Thanksgiving weekend celebrations are filling you with so much of His joy and peace… that they splash liberally on to others!