No Quick Fix

Once, several years ago, I fell into a clinical depression. It lasted two miserable years.

After it went away when I would start feeling a little down and bluesy I would panic. No, no, no, no, no. I don't want to go back there. 

But it's like I heard God say, "Just hold on to me and we'll ride it out."

We live in a quick fix world. 

Hungry? Stick some popcorn in the microwave.

Tired? Drink some coffee.

Headache? Take a pill.

Bored? Get on Facebook.

There's an answer, a formula, a quick fix for everything.

Or so we think.

Truth is, most quick fixes don't fix anything. 

Eating a snack may not satisfy the nutritional needs that underlie your hunger.

Coffee isn't going to help you the way a good nights sleep will.

Taking a pill doesn't address the reason why you get headaches in the first place.

Most real fixes require time. And we don't like to wait.

One time I was reading about when Abraham had some angels come and visit. He offered them lunch and the meal began with him asking a servant to go out and kill the best calf.

That was no fast food. These days we barely even want to wait around for water to boil.

A while back I was having a really bad mood. I was irritable, mean, sensitive, sad, and borderline insane. It was awful.

I'd read that one way to change a bad attitude is to focus on gratitude.

I'd just had my birthday so I decided to write out forty-six things I was thankful for. 

It didn't work.

My mood was the same, if not worse.

The thing is, sometimes there is no magic formula--no quick fix. Sometimes we just have to be where we are and invite God into it. It will take time, but He promises to ride it out with us.