Depression or Christ?

I was lately thinking on this life and what it means to me as a Christian. The funny thing was that I realized that there are a lot of things that are different when You are a Christian. For example In this particular instance I was kinda tired and I felt a little depressed. So it is little surprise that my thoughts, when I realized my emotional state, went to thinking about people who suffer from depression. See we all get a little down sometimes. For some of us it is just the S.A.D.D. (Seasonal Affective Depression Disorder) or some other kind, like when we get to thinking about loved ones who have died or moved away. Sometimes that makes us feel a little alone or even lost. Other people suffer from true Clinical depression. I remember a while ago a report of a state police officer near where I live who killed himself one night. He just drove out to the middle of nowhere and then pulled out his gun and shot himself at the side of the highway. It was near Christmas time when this happened and Some people, I know, were asking what could lead a person to this kind of thing. I also think about the recent reports about suicide amongst the members of our military, how they are in such despair that this is rapidly reaching epidemic proportions. Many people out there are afraid of dying. Those people are asking how anyone could do this kind of thing. I remember when I was a teenager I fell into a period of depression where I felt like the only thing I wanted was for the pain to stop. I got past it and one of the ways that I got past it and keep away from it is through the grace of God. I decided at some point that it is God’s choice as to when I ought to die. Sometimes life gets tough and it is hard to face. Knowing God helped me, maybe it is helping others. I realized that I am not afraid of death, for me that is when I can go home, and I wondered how I could compare it so that I could share it with others. This is what I thought of, When you go hiking or camping, sometimes you get scratched up by bushes, you get dirty and you get tired and whatever. Sometimes, depending on the activity, you work muscles that you forgot you even had. Think about those times, or when you went out on a long trip or did some hard work. Or whatever, You might have felt good that you accomplished something, or you might have felt good about the memories you made or the time you spent out with friends, but now you are tired and sore. Then you got home. You ate some freshly cooked food, you took a hot shower or bath, you put salve on sore muscles, you put medicine on bug bites, and you bandaged your scratches and “wounds”. How good did that feel? Then you got dressed in your clean fresh pajamas or whatever and got into your soft, warm, inviting bed and slipped between the clean sheets. That is what it is to go home. That is what Christians can look forward to. That is why I want to wait on God’s choice. Maybe for others they just want the pain to stop. But here is the problem with that… do you know Christ? Without him we have no assurance of heaven and if you go to hell then that pain will never stop. If you do know him then if you are pain or suffering you ought to talk with him about where you are. He may be able to help you like he did me. Reach out to your Christian friends who can tell you about this faith that we have. All of us have been through pain and suffering, we may not know exactly where you are or how it figures in your life but we have found peace in him. And if you are currently facing death anyway, maybe it’s a diagnosis of cancer or heart disease or something. If that is where you are and you are afraid. Talk to God about it. Accept Jesus as your Lord and savior. You do not have to be afraid of death. Because it can be, just as I said, going home to a warm fire in the fireplace or clean sheets and a renewed self. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you who read this Blog. I hope that you find the peace of God in your own lives.