Mental health and Christianity Part 1: Joy

Hey everyone, I know it’s been a while since I posted on here. The reason why is honestly because life has been all over the place between work, different family situations, one of which being my dad being in the hospital which I’ll be sharing throughout this 6-part series, which is honestly the biggest series I’ve ever done. This week I’ll be talking about joy and how you can incorporate joy into your life but also what the bible says about it.

Philippians 4:4-7(ESV) says; “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known for everyone, The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Basically, what these verses are talking about is rejoice always knowing that God is in control and to guard your heart. Which is honestly very important because one thing about mental health that I’ve learned is that if you say or even think negative things then you won’t do very well mentally, physically and spiritually. That’s honestly why it’s very important to be positive because while it might not always be easy it is possible.

Take my family for example, these past six months my Dad has been in and out of the hospital and rehab and one of the things I’ve been keeping in mind is that in life there’s seasons like fall, winter, spring and summer. However, there’s also a season for waiting, hard times and good times. Because life is hard sometimes, I remember a few weeks ago I told one of my bosses that my dad was back in rehab and she said girl, you’re on a roller coaster that I don’t know I could handle.

Honestly, she’s right these past few months have been a roller coaster this coming from someone that has never been on a roller coaster. My point is while life is full of seasons and roller coasters that’s honestly the best part of life because if life was just normal then it would be boring.  Because in Christ everything is possible!

Maybe you’ve been going through a hard time. I just want to encourage you that even though right now life might be hard, there’s always joy in life even if it’s sometimes tricky to find.  A good song that has encouraged me through these past few years and this year especially is Scars by Colton Dixon because in life we do have scars and it’s up to you to know how you respond to what’s happening. As you listen to this song, I want you to do two things: 1. Really listen to the song then 2. Write down what this song means to you. Here’s the link to this song. https://youtu.be/UROC2XRXQ0A?si=Zzz64qlfjjopEEGX.  

One of the ways this song has encouraged me is knowing that even though there are things from my past that I’m still healing from God can use those things to make me stronger and slowly learning to take life one day at a time. Take towards the end of the song. “Today’s another day forgiven of mistakes knowing that we’re not forsaken. They give life to where we’ve been. They give life to where we’ve been. When we fall and start again. Your scars remind us who we are.”  In life because we’re human we will make mistakes but in Christ we’re forgiven. Because God loves you so much more than anyone could. I remember in my early 20s I did go through a phase that I was confused on what to do with my life and did do a lot of thinking about what I want to do and even now as I’ve been reflecting on my 20s I’ve realized that even though there are things that I regret, there’s also memories that I often think back on especially with this whole thing with the possibility of Job Corps closing which I really hope that Job Corps doesn’t close because it’s a good program and it helped me be more independent and meet some unique people.

My point is, even there are things that have happened and some decisions that I’ve made in the past that I regret. Christ has a way of making some really wonderful things happen as well. Psalm 139:14 (ESV) says;” I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Did you catch that? You are fearfully and wonderfully made! Which means that even though life may throw you challenges you are made to handle those challenges with Christ’s help.

One way you can add joy to your life is to daydream because one, it will give you a chance to escape normal life and two.  I don’t about you but for me there’s times that it helps me realize what I should do at that moment. Which is honestly why there’s times even at work that I tend to daydream whenever I’m putting orders together. Or on my way to a customer or driver.  Which can be bad at times. However, it also helps me keep my cool.

Another way you can add joy to your life by just bursting out singing which I tend to do at least 4 or 5 times a day or more depending on the day. Because music has been a part of my life since my Mom was pregnant with me. Because I’ve heard this story multiple times where a western singing show was on and I would start crying because I didn’t like country music at the time. I did not start listening to Country music until I was thirteen and even now, I still listen to and sing country music because it’s one of my favorite genres of music along with Christian and somewhat Disney and kind of rock. My main thing when it comes to music is that it must either have a message or just be silly. Because depending on the song it can either lift your spirits or bring you down.

Colossians 3:16 (NIV) says;” Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”  Basically, what this verse is talking about is when we let Christ live in us along with letting him teach us that ultimately will give us gratitude in our hearts so that we can spread the love of Christ to others. Because life is hard and it’s easy to forget sometimes that Christ is always with us. That’s something I’ve been learning more this year between my dad being in and out of the hospital and rehab due to diabetes among other health issues and ultimately him going home to Christ two months ago and then moving out of state a few weeks ago. Honestly it has been hard, especially losing my dad. Because he and I had things we didn’t agree on, but I never doubted his love for me. Maybe you lost a loved one and don’t know how to respond. I’m here to tell you that it’s okay to respond however you need to respond because healing comes in all shapes and sizes. I’ll be talking more about healing in part 2 of this series so stay tuned.

As I close, I want to encourage you to listen to what God is saying and find three ways to add joy to your life. If you ever want to talk, pray, need some advice, or have any questions, feel free to message me on Facebook through Faithful or email me at homeschoolgradblog@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!