RE-DISCOVERING JOY

I don’t know about you, but I’m going crazy insane not being around people other than my family.

I miss going outside and doing things, hanging out in person with people, seeing my friends, having in-person Bible studies and movie nights, the whole nine yards. And that is what I vented about to God this morning during my quiet time. I told Him everything I missed and wanted to happen, asked Him all of my questions related to why I feel the way I do, and asked Him what I could do right now, in this quarantine, to make things better for myself. 

Now, when I asked these questions, among others, I didn’t expect any answers. I even said to God, “I know You might not want to answer all of these questions” (I asked a lot of “when” statements as well, by the way). I asked, though, because I needed to get those questions out of me, so that they weren’t lingering around in my mind and clogging up my peace. 

Surprisingly, He replied, though not with a direct answer to every question. (If He did, I probably would have been listening for another hour with how many questions I asked). But He answered with a question and with ideas that addressed why I feel the way I do and what I could do right now. 

The question I believe He led me to was - what do I truly love to do? 

When I used to ask myself these questions, I ended up with a whole long list, because I like to do a lot of things: sing, write, draw, dance, talk, watch TV, read books, play games, play sports, workout, etc. But this time, it was like God took that question and helped me get down to the core of myself to answer it. He helped me through a process of self-reflection that I really needed.

Through this process, I realized the three things that I enjoy doing that allow me to leave worries behind and be uplifted (obviously time with Jesus is primary). I enjoy singing/songwriting, reading/writing novels, and watching/acting in TV/film. 

Thankfully, I have had more time to work on songwriting and have made plans to do more. The last two things I neglected, because I was filling my schedule with too many things that weren’t the core of what I love and/or I didn’t know how to do them while in quarantine.

Well, praise be to God who is an all-knowing God! He gave me ideas, that not only would allow me to do things that purely bring me joy and add little to no stress (hopefully), but also would allow me to involve my friends.

Because I am an active extrovert who is energized by friends and community (though not strangers, just want to clarify), I can feel depression trying to seep in during this quarantine.

This time with God and self-reflection helped me realize doing at least one of the things I mentioned with people could help with that.

So, I’m going to try my best to work on the ideas God gave me for some rejuvenation and keep going back to God for help to maintain good mental health. If you have been dealing with some of the same struggles I have, I encourage you to do the same. 

- Coty Miller, Worship Director