Why God Refuses To Let Me Be Sad!

Probably because I prayed to him to lighten the burden.  That "God" guy.... Answering my prayers again.  And as usual,  not in the way I would have thought or imagined.  

 And I am truly Grateful!

You might be asking "How?" How does he keep you from the depressing dark thoughts?   Well,  technically, he does not keep the thoughts away.  I have moments where my mind wanders to those places...  Usually when I'm alone or on a run.   And I find myself writing entire blog posts in my head.  My thoughts about the situation I find myself in and all of the unanswered questions I have that will never be asked.   And just as I'm hot, angry and motivated to write about those thoughts... God throws me a distraction.

Usually it is in the form of Humor.   A Family Guy episode/scene on YouTube;  A funny joke or story from work.  Or a funny exchange with Dave or a coworker. And suddenly, instead of feeling sad, I find myself laughing uncontrollably in the middle of the night.  And "Poof!"  My vented, angry, sad blog posts evaporates!

Or...  He instead shows me something shiny or beautiful that I feel is more blog worthy.   Like chalk art, parades, or nature.   Today,  the distraction was rain, fish, berries, and butterflies!

Mushrooms have been rather scarce lately, so I skipped the usual walk through the woods and simply did my usual 6 mile run around the park.   But I noticed the Milkweed is in full bloom!

Ever smell the blossoms of the milkweed plant?   They are very sweet and fragrant.  I pause to smell them every time I see them when they are fresh because they remind my of lilacs.   And wouldn't you know that while I'm enjoying them,  I notice butterflies darting around them.  

Red Admirals, Question Marks, and Monarchs... Along with a few whites and yellows, were darting around and landing on me.  the only one I could capture with the camera was the Question Mark.  ( Notice the two white marks on the underside of the hindwing.)  

While I am noticing the butters,   I discover BERRIES!   Black Raspberries, Red Raspberries, and Mulberries were out rather suddenly,  possibly because of the rains we have had this week.   I stood in the middle of the fallow patch of land, eating as many as I could find.  Some of them were rather small, but they were so sweet and tasty.  Possibly because they have to struggle against the weeds for resources.  ( Another life lesson wrapped up in nature!  Struggling and competition makes certain traits stand out.) 

And on top of all of that,  I found a couple Monarch Larvae munching on the Milkweed plants.  I told myself if they was still there on my return trip, I would gather them up and give them a new home until they turns into a butterflies.   I only found the one on the return trip. ( the second one must have decided to change plants.) So now I have a new pet to say "Hi!" to in the morning. 

Nothing quite says "change" like a small, seemingly helpless worm becoming a beautiful butterfly.   I figured we could use a visual reminder of what life has in store for us.   And I marked the small container so Dave or the Maid will not toss it, thinking it is another one of my  mushroom experiments. 

And there it is.  Why would I look at all of these things and think they are gifts from God rather than just random acts of Nature.    Well,  I have studied nature.   Kind of have a degree in that field.   And ALL of life is nothing short of a MIRACLE!   And all of the features  and interactions between species and plants, and the environment will blow your mind if you ever sit down long enough to enjoy and observe it.   

And mostly... I simply believe.   I used to believe before...  But now I BELIEVE.  God does not want me to be sad.   But instead of taking the sadness away,  be offers me an alternative to keep my mind occupied.  And now I have an option on where I want my energies to focus. 

A Choice!

  Will I focus on the dark thoughts?   Or will I stop and see the beauty?   Smell the flowers?  Taste the berries?   

Darkness is only one dimension.   And it can be "tempting" to dip your toe in from time to time.  But like a Tar Pit, it has the ability to grab you and ultimately lead to your destruction. But when you allow your other senses to guide you,  you will find an entire world out there to discover.   How can you possibly focus on depression when there are so many other  wondrous things to think about. And that is how I think God uses this world to keep me grounded.  Lightening my burden without removing my freedom to make a choice.  Can you possibly fathom the LOVE in allowing me the option to choose my own path.   

Without getting too far off base, I will end it here.  And this is the blog post I ended up writing tonight.  And I feel a little bit happier because of it.   Thanks, God.