Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.
Let My Words Build
Yet I Will Rejoice
Habakkuk 3:18
yet I will rejoice in the LORD. I will be joyful in God my savior.
When depression, anxiety, and PTSD hit, they take me down, down deep into the pit. I feel like I am drug swiftly and hard. I grab for anything around to hold on to, but it breaks within my grasp. I can see I am losing touch with reality, but I cannot stop it.
The weight is heavy on my heart and mind. The darkness surrounds and swallows me up. It is too late. No turning back now. I must survive.
How long will it last?
How deep will I go?
Will I find my way back?
Am I lost forever this time?
I don’t know. I need to focus on surviving this moment.
I need to laugh. I need to smile. I need to fight back.
I’m too tired. It hurts. I have nothing left in me.
Then, I hear it, a small distant voice. I am not sure if I am imagining it. It is so faint. “Let Go. Let me hold you.”
Soon, I catch a glimpse of a very faint light. A flicker. It takes all my remaining strength to focus on this beautiful sound and light. I fight the urge to turn away. Then I let go. I don’t fight. I just sit and wait.
A familiar peace starts warming my soul. The light brightens. The voice gets louder. It soon repeats in my heart, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD. I will be joyful in God my savior” (Habakkuk 3:18).
My lips tremble at first. My voice is silent. No air passes my vocal cords, not even a squeak. I am being choked and cannot scream out for help.
I press on with determination from deep within. “Let your voice be heard” starts pounding now, in my head. LET! YOUR! VOICE! BE! HEARD!
My lips part. They begin to move, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD. I will be joyful in God my savior.” Again! AGAIN! A-G-A-I-N!
My voice is now booming. The darkness struggles to hold on. It loses its grip. It scrambles and tightens its talons, but I slip through.
My strength returns. I stand up tall and straight. The light around me is so bright. The voice is loud and harsh and together we dispel the darkness.
I AM FREE!
Copyright © 2018 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.
Let Your Voice Be Heard
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 1:8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sister, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.
A friend recently posted one of those “please read me then copy and post to your page and leave me a note when you are done” on Facebook. Now, I am not necessarily one of those people who go around doing this all of the time, but this particular one hit me. I had just read 2 Corinthians and verse mapped 2 Corinthians 1:8. This facebook post struck my heart.
“Some thoughts as we enter the holiday season. It is important to remember that not everyone is surrounded by large wonderful families. Some of us have problems during the holidays and some of us are overcome with great sadness when we remember the loved ones who are not with us. And many people have no one to spend these times with and are besieged by loneliness. We all need caring, loving thoughts right now. May I ask my friends, wherever you might be, to kindly copy, paste and post this status to give a moment of support for all those who have family problems, health struggles, job issues, worries of any kind and just need to know someone cares. Do it for all of us, for nobody is immune. I hope to see this on the walls of all my friends just for moral support. I know someone will! I did it for a friend and you can too!!”
When I read this, I was once again reminded it is OK to not be OK, even during holidays. Today we are celebrating Thanksgiving in America. It can be a trying time for some people. I know several families who have just lost a loved one. I also know many families who have stopped seeing each other because of a fight. I have an aunt who will be spending the holiday in the hospital. There are numerous reasons to not be thankful today.
The one thing we need to do as we begin to enter the holiday season is to remember not everyone is so joyous. If that person is you, please use your voice. Let your emotions be heard. Don’t bottle up, put on the happy face, and see your way through it, yet again.
We do not have to be ashamed of reaching the pit of despair, even to the point of suicidal thoughts (despaired life itself). Life is tough. We are troubled and under great pressure, sometimes far beyond our ability. However, we have hope and faith in God to see us through. When we come through, it is our voice that will help others get through their journeys. It is our duty to not shut up and hide our past. It is our past that will shine the light brightly and lead others to God.
Remember our past helps make us, but it does not define us. Even chocolate cake was once just eggs, butter, and flour, but oh boy, how good is it now!
Copyright © 2018 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.