Blues and Blahs

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This morning I woke up to gray skies. The sky really seemed to imitate my mood. A bit chilly, drizzly, and an overall dull outlook towards the new day before me.
What happened? The weekend was great. Good friends, good food, good rest, and clear focus. The truth is- the blues and blahs can settle like whispers or screams- but they definitely settle- like unwelcome house guests that don't understand it's time to leave.

My good friend Leanne spoke about this very encounter yesterday in our Sunday school class. I love how the bible explains all the messy details of being human. Being stuck in a rut of despair is certainly one of them.

Elijah was a prophet that was unequaled in power and performance. Think Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Babe Ruth. Then add the fact that he had the power of the living God working in him as he called down fire to prove the false gods of his day a farce. After a huge display of God's power by his hands- word spread to Queen Jezebel that this prophet had destroyed the false prophets that she heartily endorsed. "I'll kill him" she snapped. You'd think that Elijah would laugh in the face of that threat- but instead he ran away, and crumbled under a Juniper tree.

Filled with despair, fear, and exhaustion- Elijah moaned and muttered to the gray skies above him. He fell into a pit of despair. But like my friend says "It's really not a pit, it's a tunnel." The great thing about tunnels is that there is light at the end of them.

We can learn a few things from Elijah as he sunk into his tunnel:
1. When we are worn out, we don't think soundly (like running from a woman's threat when you've just called rain and fire down from heaven...)

2. When we isolate ourselves everything seems worse

3. Self-pity exaggerates and lies

4. When we forget what God has done in our lives, we have no true compass

So as this day turns to dusk, the gray color that has tinted the sky is now turning black- but I truly feel better knowing that tomorrow will dawn with a new color to the sky. And even if it's gray, my heart doesn't need to process it that way.

Blessings!
Gari

P.S.- For my Texas reading friends, join us on Sundays at 9:30, Second Baptist Church in Katy, the Life Application Class- for some great learning, teaching, and fun...