I\u2019m a surefire pessimist. Just ask my optimist husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wasn\u2019t finding one ray of beauty this Illinois 6-below season\u2014but I needed to<\/em>. Needed a big shot of reality for my declining attitude. With two solid months of wild winds, slippery ice, gray skies ahead it\u2019s already a struggle not to feel depressed. The loss of light, locked windows, frigid temperatures make me want to hibernate. See you in the Spring<\/em>, is what I want to say to every friendly invitation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After 13 days of sulking and sickness, I\u2019m outdoors. Boots breaking through the glass of my brittle environment. As cold cuts through hat, nicking my ears, I spot sunlight glistening off frost and it\u2019s mildly melting all foul feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a beast of a season. So many of us shut in enduring this cursed plague. And if bodily infection weren\u2019t enough, our hearts were barely fighting off all the fighting before this new squall of suffering barged in. But honestly, truthfully would we dare say suffering is not part of God’s plan?<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The more we allow the Bible to shape our prayers, Listen how Eugene Peterson interprets Paul dealing with feeling depressed in 2 Corinthians: “We don\u2019t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia. It was so bad we didn\u2019t think we were going to make it. We felt like we\u2019d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God\u2019s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.”<\/em> (8-9, 11)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The apostle Paul relied on God and asked for prayer! Paul was not the super-human I thought he was. He was a person. Like us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can do more than pray, after we have prayed, but not until.\u201d \u2013 Alistair Begg<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n This scripture speaks daily in view: PRAY Without Ceasing<\/em> 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Weeks before sickness it became little more than dried wood and pale paint. Crumpling my list of mind armoring prayers after a super stretch of revelation and transformation. What is it God warns us of a mistake like this? When we become too big for our religious britches? Here it is, \u201cTherefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.\u201d<\/em> (1 Co 10:12)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, I fell. Of course. Off my high inflated horse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The winters of life arrive in all seasons. Plagues & fighting are not exclusive to present years\u2014even more reason to be prepared.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever the weather\u2014<\/strong>our soul will freeze without a breath of fresh prayer.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m hearing Ecclesiastes in my head, \u201cThat which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.\u201d<\/em> (1:9) It feels like I\u2019m back to square one. Learning all over again how taking matters into my own hands is grasping for the wind. Allowing Satan to hold my tongue, instead of fearing God and obeying His commands<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s not like not praying is God saying, You’re on your own fella<\/em>. It’s turning away from Grace.<\/em><\/strong> As if to say, I don\u2019t need You, God. I have today under control. If I get in a jam, I\u2019ll let you know. <\/em>If the wheels fall off, He\u2019s the backup plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s treating God like a one-night stand.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As sure as our mind can run off the rails\u2014The Lords’ comeback prevails, \u201cReturn to Me, for I have redeemed you.\u201d <\/em>(Is 44:22) Jesus, boundless in love, rich in mercy, with all unsearchable power and glory refills the sails of our sorry soul. \u201cIf we are faithless, He remains faithful, He cannot deny Himself.\u201d<\/em> (2 Tim 2:13) Come back<\/em>, Compassion says, remembering the yoke of our flesh. Delighted to hold us, our Father welcomes and clothes us, calling for the fatted calf.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m a surefire pessimist. Just ask my optimist husband. I wasn\u2019t finding one ray of beauty this Illinois 6-below season\u2014but I needed to. Needed a big shot of reality for my declining attitude. With two solid months of wild winds, slippery ice, gray skies ahead it\u2019s already a struggle not to feel depressed. The loss […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143625079,"featured_media":4872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5551],"tags":[773157887,773157847,773157880,773157840,773157836,25731,773157881,9484],"class_list":["post-4940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-depression","tag-bible-reading","tag-depression","tag-forgiveness","tag-love","tag-prayer","tag-scripture","tag-sickness","tag-winter"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pacmrQ-1hG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3800,"url":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?p=3800","url_meta":{"origin":4940,"position":0},"title":"Matters of Life & Death: How Do You Know You Love God?","author":"Jo Alo","date":"October 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Life and death, like seasons, roll in abruptly and fade away swiftly. The past year has felt severe. Storms, one right after another. Our bodies losing steam. Hearts sick with grief. The worlds\u2019 greed to dominate and deceive. No breaks in tears it seems. Everything feels overcast and threatening. Here's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "suffering"","block_context":{"text":"suffering","link":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?cat=82348"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/18a627f7d730975da3748102b4250529.jpg?fit=500%2C686&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1429,"url":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?p=1429","url_meta":{"origin":4940,"position":1},"title":"Days’d and Confused","author":"Jo Alo","date":"May 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Forgive me. But today I\u2019d like to scratch all Days off the calendar. Volunteering many moons ago at a Pregnancy Crisis Center, my first director was a lovely hearted woman. She housed a host more wisdom than I. She taught me, Every appointment of our lives is God appointed. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "contentment"","block_context":{"text":"contentment","link":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?cat=102201"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/0c5f0-50821ee2-b67b-4e5f-a51d-0337c160e539.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/0c5f0-50821ee2-b67b-4e5f-a51d-0337c160e539.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/0c5f0-50821ee2-b67b-4e5f-a51d-0337c160e539.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/0c5f0-50821ee2-b67b-4e5f-a51d-0337c160e539.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13015,"url":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?p=13015","url_meta":{"origin":4940,"position":2},"title":"When You Find Nothing In This World Can Satisfy & How You’re Not Alone","author":"Jo Alo","date":"May 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The morning my bare boney feet stepped up on the scale, the load of life hit like a ton of bricks. You can have everything this world has to offer, and still feel like your starving to death. In my forties I fell for old lies. A time in your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Bible"","block_context":{"text":"The Bible","link":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?cat=54418"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/guilherme-stecanella-smcn7cbhk_c-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/guilherme-stecanella-smcn7cbhk_c-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/guilherme-stecanella-smcn7cbhk_c-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/guilherme-stecanella-smcn7cbhk_c-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/guilherme-stecanella-smcn7cbhk_c-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13751,"url":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?p=13751","url_meta":{"origin":4940,"position":3},"title":"Even When We Can’t See One Reason for Hope","author":"Jo Alo","date":"August 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been stuck in my lack of performance. When this happens, the devil comes at me like a mortician\u2014able to drain the blood right out of me.Depression can feel like that.God made promises. And He's never broken one of them. Me, on the other hand, can't seem to keep a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "hope"","block_context":{"text":"hope","link":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?cat=20816"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/patrick-hendry-jd0hs7vhn_a-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/patrick-hendry-jd0hs7vhn_a-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/patrick-hendry-jd0hs7vhn_a-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/patrick-hendry-jd0hs7vhn_a-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/patrick-hendry-jd0hs7vhn_a-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5589,"url":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?p=5589","url_meta":{"origin":4940,"position":4},"title":"Some Good News About Suffering","author":"Jo Alo","date":"May 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I couldn\u2019t get how suffering was actually\u00a0good\u00a0for me. Of all the things I do in the name of strong and healthy,\u00a0suffering\u00a0never sounded vitally important. Take your vitamins, eat your vegetables, plenty of water, walk, rest, sunlight. 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I guess if you\u2019re needing a chiropractor, it's what you want to hear. Still, his comment hung hollow in the air. \"Listen to your body. It tells you what it needs.\" Those were the words that touched a nerve. 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the more our requests will line up with God’s plans.”
\u2013 Jodie Berndt<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n