One thing I’ve learned about losing our dog Lucy is that we’ll never not have a dog. We bought Wrigley during the pandemic, and I’m sure thankful we have her. She’s two now, and losing Lucy makes me thankful for every pet I give Wrigley, every trip outside and every play session. Dogs are truly man’s best friend.

They help you sort out all kinds of problems by their presence. I was bullet journaling last night, and here are some of the things I bulleted: Lay-O-Land, Beyond Sad, Kindness and Gentleness, Milosi, Jasper Builds, Franchises in all 50 states, EA (Executive Assistant) and some others I’m not sharing. Thank you Wrigley for making the grief more bearable. Grief can be so blinding that that kind of bullet list can escape cognition.

Another thing I learned again while cleaning a house was that gratitude is a game changer. I was upset about several things concerning money, but I was able to pay my car note, and I continually thanked God over and over for about an hour, and now I’m able to remember that to share it with you. This broken world, especially those of us with depression, underscores the negative to the exclusion of the positive. It takes intentionality to change your thinking to focus on the positive.

Depression can cause you to quit even before you start. Put grief on top of it, and the thought may not even see the light of day. You have to be ruthless with depression because it doesn’t let up. Even when your on Cloud 9 listening to amazing worship music in a Michael Jordan scoring zone doing whatever it is you’re doing a very small thing such as a negative thought can stop the progress. I’ve been there countless times.

Sometimes it’s just surviving a single hour. Stop. If there’s coffee near by fix a cup, sit down and stare into space while you finish that cup of coffee. If you’re like me it doesn’t take much for the tears to flow, so don’t fight it. Let them flow. Get back up. Walk around the house. Wash a load of clothes. Dry a load of clothes. Fold a load of clothes and put them away. Forgive, forgive and forgive. Wash the dishes. Pet your pet. Journal, blog or text someone. Schedule counseling. Find a Psychiatrist. Medicine is important, and don’t let some blow-hard tell you you aren’t trusting Jesus. You can’t practice Proverbs 3.5-6 if the chemicals in your body are out of whack. Jesus always ministered to the physical body before he prescribed spiritual solutions.

This world is due for a revival unlike any it’s ever seen. At least my circle of influence. Beyond Sad will one day be a non-profit delivering resources to those who battle depression. I’m writing that into existence. It will have an annual golf tournament that will raise millions solely dedicated to those who battle depression. Depression literally kills people. It removes joy and happiness where God wants joy and happiness to be. It destroys families with un-Christlike anger, hate and fear. It deletes dreams, ambitions, future marriages, children and people who could become doctors, lawyers, coaches, professional athletes, college professors, school teachers and administrators. I could go on and on.

Depression will not have the last word so long I have breath in my lungs and blood in my veins.