Staying grounded when life is falling apart:

Staying grounded when life is falling apart:

We have all at one time experienced a period of sadness; some people get over it with a little time, but for others, the sadness continues. If you are caught in a prolonged period of sadness, you may recognize one or more of the signs that often accompany depression: a growing distrust of God, resentment of others, difficulty making decisions, guilt, inactivity, sleeplessness or oversleeping, not eating or overeating, doubting, complaining, worrying, and hopelessness, as though you're in an inescapable pit. I have been here before, I battled depression, it’s a dark place. But as desperate as everything may look, there are real reasons for hope. God loves you. And He wants to fill you with joy, peace, fulfillment and so much more.

Today, Jesus says to you, “Come into me all you that labor and are heavy-laden, and I’ll give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

What He’s really saying is that when you’re feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, and when you’re feeling downcast and like you can’t go on another day that we can go to Him. Jesus says, “I’ll give you rest. Do life with me. That’ll bring rest to your soul.” 

What do you do when everything seems to be falling apart?

Do not try to do life alone: surround yourself with positive people who support and encourage you. Ditch the nay sayers: those who remind you about what went wrong, those who don’t support your choices and decisions, those who advise through fear. True friends are those available when you need them, those who will stick around for the long haul, no matter what.

Keep Moving: Low tides come in our lives and leave us stunned, broken, and hopeless. But that doesn’t mean that we must stop living our life and become inert. Even if you stop, life won’t stop for you, it will go on. Just remember that after every low tide, there’s a high tide as well, you just have to keep moving. Take one step at a time, follow your routine, set goals for yourself, and steer clear from negativity. Go out and have some fun and just do something exciting. Don’t wrap yourself in your sorrows or you will drown in them. Keep moving with the tide. Bear in mind, if you keep moving, this phase will pass away, and one day you will realize your life is not falling apart anymore. Instead, everything that happened happened for a reason.

Cry your Heart Out – Release Your Emotions: Some people choose to put on a brave face and decide to face the storms in life without a tear, while others may resort to shedding tears to relieve the pain within. Some of my friends actually think I am a rock, yes I am a very strong woman, some have never seen me cry but I do cry, though I do it behind closed doors. Being strong is an admirable trait. But sometimes, it becomes essential to cry your heart out to give freedom to the bottled up emotions and to release the negativity from your thoughts. To some of you that think that crying is a sign of weakness, well it’s not, instead it is a mark of staying strong for too long. Guys, it’s also very okay for you to cry too, crying will help to heal your wounds and dull your pain. Ultimately it will give you the power to attain closure, get over your grief faster, and move forward.

Be Grateful: While things may look bleak right now, not everything might be going wrong. There will be things that are going right. When life takes a turn for the worse, we become negative about everything and end up forgetting what we have been blessed with. This ungratefulness will not take you anywhere. You have to take charge of your life and learn to show gratitude. Think about it, you’ve been blessed with so much in life. Be grateful for what you have been blessed with, and don’t take those blessings lightly.  Gratitude will heal your soul and relieve the pain of life’s wounds.

 

“Choosing to be positive and having a grateful attitude is going to determine how you’re going to live your life.” – Joel Osteen

Learn and grow from your struggles.  God allows you to experience challenging circumstances so you can learn to love and trust Him in deeper ways, and so you can grow more mature, developing a strong character to become more like Jesus.  Keep in mind that God is more interested in your lasting holiness than your temporary happiness, because holiness will help you learn to choose what's best for you.  Going through a hard time with my favorite person has helped me grow. Sometimes it takes a struggle for us to grow into the people God wants us to become. Ask God to help you see your struggles from His perspective.  Let your struggles teach you whatever God wants you to learn from them.  As you deal with the difficulties in your life, stay focused on what matters most - eternal values - so you can grow into a stronger person in the process.

Read Inspirational articles and listen to Pastor Joel Osteen Podcasts: I know Ugandans do not love to read, but if you read inspirational articles and books, they will motivate you to stay positive. You will see that everyone goes through rough patches but that they do make it through. It will be worth it in the end. One thing that my favorite person does each time he feels down, is listen to Pastor Joel Osteen podcasts, I do the same, you can get them online, Christian book stores in town, or on Power Fm (104.1) daily at 2:30pm, they are very helpful and will motivate you to stay positive.

Read these Bible Verses:  they will help you for Keep Faith in weakness. The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1) Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. (Psalm 105:4) So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10) So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. (Acts 27:25) But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13) The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23)

Hang in there. This will pass and you will soon be experiencing your new, more positive life.