My Dreams Chased Away My Depression :: Guest Post with Andy Lee

Today it’s my pleasure to welcome the lovely and talented Andy Lee to my space. I met Andy at my very first writer’s conference and remember being in awe of this tall, beautiful lady with the wide smile and absolute persistence in the belief that someday her book was going to find a home. Well now, it’s sitting in my morning pile alongside my Bible, a thrift store concordance, My Utmost for His Highest, and a journal that needs some extra attention during my busy season.

A Mary Like Me is the story of strong women who walked with Jesus. But today, Andy is sharing a bit of her story. It’s not all that different from mine, and, I suspect, many of yours.

Blessings, friends. Thank you for being here.

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I sat on the sands in a tidal pool of self-pity.

My cup of blessings overflowed, but I couldn’t shake the sadness. I’m sure sleep deprivation played a major role in my mommy depression, but that day as I listened to one of my favorite Christian artists, her words about dreaming streamed through my earphones straight to the pit of my heart.

As the tears poured down my face, I realized this was the key to my sadness. As a child, I loved to dream, but try as I might, I couldn’t recall one of them.

Before this revelation of lost dreams, my sorrow was a betrayal to my blessings. I didn’t want to hold onto my sadness and nurture it, but I couldn’t escape from the shadows. So, I had petitioned and wrestled with God, asking for forgiveness and questioning why this had such a hold on me. Why was I so miserable?

God always answers these kinds of petitions—the kind of prayers that beg Him to bring you closer to His will. His joy. His goodness.

Knowing the root of our depression is the first step to freedom.

In my tidal-pools of self-pity that life-changing day, my friend sitting next to me grabbed my hand and told me to sing. She reminded me to worship the One who made the waves rolling toward our feet and gave those waters their boundaries.

The sorrow didn’t immediately fade nor did the dreams appear at once, but day by day, as I worshiped and prayed asking God to help me love my blessings, I began to remember my dreams.

One summer a need arose for an aerobic instructor for my Bible study group. I had never actually led a class, but I memorized one Kathy Ireland routine; my nine year old daughter made a music tape, and I taught that same routine to the same music every week. We had a blast. About halfway through the summer session, God reminded me that this was once a dream of mine.

And that’s when I knew that God would be faithful to remind me of my dreams and open the doors in His timing and creativity.

One of my life verses became: Delight yourself in the Lord and HE will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).

As the years rolled on, the Lord let me experience many small and big dreams. One of those dreams was to write a book—this story is part of it. It’s written to encourage women to follow their God dreams and calls.

Please remember:

• Empty can be a good thing. God wants to fill us first with Himself.
• If shadows of depression threaten, ask God to reveal the root.
• Worship Him.

 

My dreams chased away the depression. What helps you when depression settles on you? Leave a comment to enter the drawing for a giveaway of a signed copy of A Mary Like Me: Flawed Yet Called.

 

Finding Purpose in our Dreams,

andy

 

 

Andy Lee is a wife, mom, recovering people pleaser, speaker, and author of two books, A Mary Like Me: Flawed Yet Called (Leafwood) and The Book of Ruth: A 31-Day Journey to Hope and Promise (AMG). Her blog, Finding Purpose Beyond Today (wordsbyandylee.com), encourages thousands of viewers each month, and her morning Periscope broadcast, Bite of Bread, inspires those who join her as she digs into a Bible verse for the day. To invite Andy to speak at an event, or to find out more about her ministry visit wordsbyandylee.com.