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Titus: Accessible to God Service

Titus: Assessible for God’s Service Download

Titus: Accessible for God’s Service

To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Titus 1:4 ESV

It’s natural for us to think of how accessible we are when a need arises that concerns us. Some are called to a prayer ministry, others to render gifts of service, and some can send a money gift.

As Paul traveled on his missionary journeys, he saw the need for preachers who were willing to be accessible. He prayed for God to send him men who were or would become spirit-filled, and eager to serve in the ministry.

During his second missionary trip Paul met Timothy, and later he met Titus. They both were Greek teenagers. Paul led each of them to Christ. After their conversion they traveled with Paul and his ministry team. Paul called both of them his sons in the faith.

Paul trained all the men who traveled with him to be preachers. They became accessible to God’s leading. Titus, blessed with physical stamina, became a traveling preacher.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that Titus was coming to them of his own free will. Paul referred to Titus as his fellow worker by then.

Another time, Paul sent a letter to Titus for him to stay in Crete. This was a tough place to plant churches. The Cretans were known to be rowdy. Nevertheless, Paul instructed Titus on the qualifications for church leaders, and encouraged the young preacher to preach sound doctrine.

Paul was stern and direct when needed, but showed care and concern, also. His letters were as good as him being there. Paul’s letters are timeless, and have no geographical or social-economic boundaries.

Later, Titus went to Dalmatia, Yugoslavia, and established Christian churches there. Paul, and his team were effective because of their spirit-led accessibility.

Paul spoke Hebrew and Aramaic to the Judeans and Middle Easterners, Greek to the Turkish and Greek, and Latin to the Romans. He taught his team to read Hebrew so they could study the prophets and minister the gospel proficiently.

God is calling us to be involved. Every ministry needs prayer warriors, financial givers, and co-laborers. No matter which choice we make, we are being accessible in spreading the Good News.

A suggested prayer: Adonai, fill me with your Holy Spirit and make me accessible to your leading. Amen.

Devotions by Patricia Jordan

Devotions and Short Stories by Christian Writer

by Patricia A. Jordan

I started my WordPress site to gain more readers of my devotions, and family-generational true short stories. Some of mine have been published in: lovelinesfromgod.blogspot.com and ChristianDevotions.us

A few years back I self-published a self-help book titled: You Are Valuable Don’t Let Depression Get You Down (ISBN 978-1-6642-7929-2). I’ve had low grade” depression, sometimes called chronic depression for too many years to count. But I finally found some “talk-therapy” counseling that worked out well for me and wrote about it in my book. I hope it helps you if you decide to purchase it. I am a Christian and have included some Biblical reference.

Please contact me through my email here or I am on Facebook at: Patricia Jordan, Sylva, NC 28779

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There Are No Easy Answers For Solving Depression

There are no quick and easy answers to overcoming depression. If you are hoping that I’ve written one in here than you might as well stop reading now. Because you won’t find one.

I suggest you stop trying easy fixes for mental health issues or worse yet, ignoring your mental health issues altogether. Make it a daily personal goal to make sure your past mistakes don’t become your future problems. But how do you achieve this goal?

Start by being honest with yourself over the state of things in your life. How much longer do you want to engage in negative behaviors that are increasing your mental health issues? If you spend your time engaging in negative behaviors, then you will never get around to seeking true solutions. And that’s often when things often go from bad to worse.

I want to help you get your head above the dark clouds of the quagmire of your problems. And to find solutions to at least some of your life’s problems.

Mental health issues spill over into other health issues, as well. So, it’s best to solve your issues as completely as possible as early in your life as is possible.

Don’t settle for putting a “band-aide” solution over your mental / emotional “wounds.” Quick and easy solutions rarely work and usually exacerbates the problem even more.

Take an honest hard look at your life and ask yourself, “How long do I want to keep living this way?” Any bad decision can be solved by you taking the lead and correcting your path.

When I was in the deep part of depression, I knew that I couldn’t help myself. And I also knew that I couldn’t trust some of my own decision making. I didn’t like the answers I was getting from my husband Jeff either. Way before he and I met and married, he had developed a bad habit of arguing over “how white salt is” style of communication. Not helpful.

When life was on an “even keel” then we did things with our three daughters and life was good. But those times didn’t last long enough. So, we went to marriage counseling.

A good counselor will offer communication tools that are helpful. A better counselor will show you how to utilize those tools. Through the years we’ve had a few of each kind. Plus, I’ve gone to individual counseling.

Today I take a serotonin boosting supplement called tryptophan. I stay in counseling about twice a month. Many times, Jeff goes with me. We’ve both learned how to strengthen our support system by speaking into each other rather than at each other. There’s a big difference between the two types of communication.

Find Joy Despite Your Circumstances

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 (NLT)

The Apostle Paul wrote the above verse when he sat in a filthy prison cell being chained to the wall. He was in Rome awaiting his trail and execution.

At some point in time in his life I believe Paul had a vision where he looked out onto the horizon and saw you and me. He saw us caught in the struggles of life, bad decision making, and efforts that have led anyone of us into dead end results. We were at risk of losing our joy of life and our hope for better days ahead of us.

Yes, Paul knew all of this and that’s why he wrote some of the most encouraging words you or I will ever read. Those words are found in his short but in-depth book called Philippians.

You see Paul wanted to go to Rome. He thought he would continue his building up of Christian believers in towns that he traveled through, while traveling to Rome. Well, he did get to Rome, but it didn’t happen the way he thought it would.

Since becoming a Christian several years earlier, Paul had many near-death experiences. He fought off wild animals, had huge rocks thrown at him by villagers until they thought he was dead, he went without food, shelter, and other necessities many times during his travels.

Why would anyone want to risk their life more times than even Paul writes about? Only to end up chained to a prison wall where there was not even window.

Paul didn’t let his circumstances determine his level of joy. His source of joy went deeper than his surroundings. His joy came from his belief in Jesus Christ. And he was completely committed to sharing his love and belief that Jesus Christ is the source of true love, hope, joy, and contentment.

Do you let your situation determine your outlook on life?

Find Joy Despite Your Circumstances

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 (NLT)

The Apostle Paul wrote the above verse when he sat in a filthy prison cell being chained to the wall. He was in Rome awaiting his trail and execution.

Yes, Paul knew all of this and that’s why he wrote some of the most encouraging words you or I will ever read. Those words are found in his short but in-depth book called Philippians.

Why would anyone want to risk their life more times than even Paul writes about? Only to end up chained to a prison wall where there was not even window.

Do you let your situation determine your outlook on life?

The Good Samaritans

“Jesus answered, “…a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him,…leaving him half dead….

But a Samaritan who was traveling that way…saw him, his heart was filled with pity. He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.” Luke 10:30,33,34

Before I settled down to marry my husband and have my three girls, I was a restless young woman moving from place to place and job to job. I was in my early twenties during those years, and living in Atlanta GA.

I had moved there when I was nineteen to learn photography at an art school. It was located near Pershing Point, so my parents helped me find a nearby place. As it turned out I lived between where “Gone With The Wind” was written and Piedmont Park. l mention this because those two places were at opposite ends of polarizing cultures at that time if ever there was.

The book was written in a peaceful quiet neighborhood. Piedmont Park at that time, was ran over with dirty hippies that camped there, smoked dope, and dealt drugs out in the open. Small children ran around with little direction. That was the summer of 1971. About a year later the Atlanta police cracked down and cleared the Park out.

I bought dope there at the Park while finishing my year of study. After that I worked in photo labs around Atlanta and moved often to be closer to work. And I continued my habit of smoking dope. All that put me in the company of some people who didn’t have my nor their own best interests in mind.

By the Spring of 1975 I realized I could no longer continue in that lifestyle. I was seeking a new direction for my life. I began seeking God’s presence in my life like I had experienced in my childhood.

From that desire I found a local church that was warm and friendly from the start. During that same time, I also was trying to get into a branch of the military but had failed the first round of testing. My math skills were lacking to say the least.

On my life’s horizon came two women that were a great help to me during that time. The first was my sister Deena who had left a federal job in D.C. to move to Atlanta a year earlier. Deena was much more of a career person than I’ve ever been. She gave me advice and encouraged me to keep trying to join the military that year.

The other woman came out from a large crowd of friendly people at my church and showed an interest in me. We had little in common, but I appreciated her friendship. On a Sunday afternoon after having lunch together at my apartment she turned our conversation to the state of my spiritual life.

That’s when God used a sledgehammer to break the hardness of my heart. In between crying I made it clear enough that my whole life was still pretty much a mess. I was still smoking dope and being “on the fence” over everything in my life.

My friend allowed the Holy Spirit to guide her and I sensed that. Otherwise, I would’ve insisted she leave immediately. After all, I had a nice veneer of an organized Spiritual life going on. But that’s all it was, and I knew it. It was time to jump off the “fence” and make a commitment to be a Christ follower.

I flushed all the dope I had in my apt and then we prayed. After that we talked about my wanting to join the military. I knew my friend was a college student but hadn’t ask what her major was.

I had centered much of my life around me, myself, and I back then and showed little interest in getting to know others on an in-depth relationship.

It was that day when she told me she had left her steady job, worked a plan out with her mother to help raise her daughter. And had moved closer to Georgia Tech University to pursue some type of a math degree. Soon she would be graduating and returning to get her child to pursue a new career plan.

We only knew each other for a few weeks at best. But before graduating, she wrote a full sheet of simple math formulas that I read and practiced over and over. By late Summer I went into the Air Force Recruiting station and passed their tests with above average abilities in understanding basic schematics, math, and comprehension skills.

I entered the Air Force on a delayed enlistment plan in 1976. By 1978 I had met and married another Air Force member, Jeffrey Jordan. We have three daughters that we’re very proud of.

Let Go and Let God

“The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.” 2 Samuel 5:20

“What good can come of this situation?” Is a question most of us have asked from time to time. We find ourselves in a negative situation where there seems to be no good answer. And you may be feeling anxious about it. Figuratively speaking, you’re starting to think that the walls are closing in on you.

Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Don’t let your emotions run ahead of your decision making. Stay calm, and breath deeply. And let some good old common sense come into your mind. Or in other words: Let go and let God do His work in the situation.

My maternal grandpa was born in a chaotic situation when good choices were few and far between. Even in spite of that, I believe God’s hand was in it, and the best choice was made.

His mother was from one of the most rural areas of Western North Carolina. And it still is. Few outsiders travel to those areas. An outsider brings suspicion on him or herself. I know because I’ve gone looking for headstones throughout WNC. And I have been asked what I was doing there even with NC plates and having a pronounced WNC southern accent.

Back to my grandfather. His entire life story could be summed up in that one phrase, “Let go and let God do His work in this situation.” Through some effort I’ve been able to weave together the highlights of his life. And, in reading it you’ll see what I’m talking about.

First, he is the only grandpa I knew in my growing up years. My Dad’s dad died of a massive heart attack when my dad turned thirteen years old. He was in his forties and had three of his four children still at home. My paternal grandmother immediately started working in the Knoxville, TN school cafeteria. Not much time to grieve back then. All of that happened during the Great Depression.

My maternal grandfather was born to a fifteen-year-old unmarried girl. She was not quite a woman, but no child either. My math tells me she was pregnant at fourteen and turned fifteen a few months before my grandpa was born. She died a few years later giving birth to her second child, also a son, also illegitimate.

My grandpa’s dad was in his early twenties when the teenage girl from down the road delivered his first child, in 1898. He had just started operating the only grocery store in that whole community. That’s where most likely the two met. Was their quick union consensual? I don’t know. All I know is that my grandpa’s dad rejected his first born and despised the ground his son walked on. That I know to be a fact.

My grandpa’s dad did marry later and had one son. I have a picture of that man and he looks a lot like my grandpa. The resemblance between the two is striking and leaves no doubt that they were brothers, right down to both being small frame wiry looking men. Both had fair skin, slicked back trimmed blond hair, that framed narrow faces. The eye set, what I call “the look” is the same on both men.

My grandpa, as a child moved from house to house in that community until he reached twelve years of age. He never talked about his childhood but my mother and her sister have shared some memories of their childhood and what they remembered being told about their parents childhoods.

The 1900 Census shows grandpa’s teenage mother living with her parents, but no mention of a boy toddler in the home. The 1910 Census shows him living with his paternal grandmother who had been widowed just prior to that. Then he was sent across the state line to another relative’s farm to pick peaches in Georgia. From there he went to Rome, GA to the Berry’s School for orphaned children where he learned a trade.

Then, in 1917 he left Berry’s School to enter the Navy. Berry College’s archival department had his name on their attendance roll. It doesn’t look like he graduated but being older he just left.

From there Grandpa caught the train to Atlanta and went straight into the Navy. He sailed for France on a frigate. The early idea of that type of ship was that most everyone was a machinist of some type or other. There were guns on the larger ships that required maintenance, ships engines required maintenance, etc. I have a copy of his discharge papers that shows all his assignments.

Experiencing Rejection Twice

After WWI he comes back to the rural community that he was born in. The place where he was rejected in. The place where his dad still ran the only store there. The place where he didn’t have much of a chance at attending school, if any at all.

That was the place where, in his early childhood he had to go from house to house wondering if he could just stay there long enough to work during the Spring planting season. Or the harvesting season. Or the cold Winter season. And who or where did he get a coat from when it snowed? And we usually have a few snowfalls here in WNC every Winter.

Where did this boy get clothes? And shoes for those cold months? Who took care of him when he gashed his knee wide opened? Did any maternal woman give him just one reassuring hug during those early years? Who showed him how to be a responsible man? Which, he did grow up to become very responsible.

My big question is “Why do we always go back to where we’ve experienced the most pain in our lives? What good can come of that?” I’ve done that too and I don’t have any great nor even a good answer to this question.

If you are thinking closure, then maybe you’re not old enough to know the difference between that or just trying to move on with life. If closure were a creature it would be the most elusive living thing on Earth to catch. There is no trap strong enough or quick enough to catch closure. So, let’s all agree to stop trying to catch it.

Well, from there grandpa moves to the nearest bustling community and meets my granny. They married in the early nineteen twenties. I don’t know the exact year, but my mother was born in nineteen twenty-six, she had two older brothers and one younger sister. They attended a Calvary style church that was in walking distance all of my mother’s growing up years.

About 1930 grandpa almost died from falling off an elevated platform onto a concrete floor at a factory he worked at. In falling he cracked his skull open and had “brain bleed.”

The hospital must’ve been close by because he survived a rare operation. Most people with head injuries died back then before they could get to a doctor. Grandpa’s scalp was sliced open and the skin peeled back. Then, the doctor screwed a metal plate over the crack. Of course, this was all done under anesthesia or morphine induced sleep.

Well, long story short, my grandparents went back to farming near the community my granny was from. They both grew up farming and knew it the best. Plus, the metal plate caused my grandpa to have seizures, so he never worked a regular job nor ever drove after that surgery.

They worked their way into owning fifteen acres of wooded farmland that included a livable house. They closed in a “dog trot” back porch and turned it into an indoor bathroom in 1946. My mother was already married to my dad by that time.

Their two sons joined the Navy during WWII. Both came home from the war, quickly married, and moved off. My mother and her sister worked in the naval yard in Panama City, FL as riveters during some of WWII. Then, they attended Knoxville Business school. It was in Knoxville that they met their future husbands, one being my dad.

My parents settled down about fifty miles East of my grandparents in Asheville, NC. By then they had all of us five kids. A few years later my dad convinced my mother to quit her steady factory job and try an idea he had about getting into the souvenir business near the Cherokee Indian Reservation. That one idea made them millionaires several times over.

My grandparents’ four children had seventeen children, collectively speaking. Of those seventeen; three became teachers or connected to Univ. of TN. One obtained her PhD. Another cousin joined the Navy and made Chief Petty Officer within thirteen years. I’m happy to say that all of us siblings and cousins became the “Salt of the Earth” type of people.

It’s always best to let go and let God takeover our problems. Life is too short to do otherwise.

God Did His Best Work When He Created You and I

Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous.” Joshua 10:25

Have you ever thought that when God created you and I, He was doing His best work? Its true. And hopefully you believe that and will show others you’re one of His masterpieces. That’s what my goal is each and every day I awake to a new day in my life.

Like me, maybe you’ve also picked up negative messages about yourself during your childhood years. If so, then you, like I have emotionally engulfed that negativity into our psyche, and then it became a part of our own self-belief.

Well, those that spoke those messages are also flawed humans just like the rest of us. My dad constantly criticized me all through my childhood and into my adult years. But that’s how he always spoke to all five of his children. I love him, but I’ve learned over the years to take being in his presence in small doses.

I was criticized by both my parents during my childhood. Which might be the root cause of the dysthimic depression I’ve had most of my adult life. Looking back I can say that it’s been a journey of going through some dark valleys of depression.

I didn’t know what kind of depression I had, but I did know that it “clouded” my thinking. So, in my early twenties I started making changes in my life that were for my good. Prior to that I had been heading in a downward spiral since my teens.

A lot of that changed though, when I set my mind on improving my life about the time I turned twenty-three. I got new friends, for one thing. I, also had my Christian “born again” experience then, and grew in my spiritual walk. Within a year, I joined the USAF, and met my husband, Jeff at my first Airbase assignment.

But, the depression I’ve experienced didn’t just magically go away then, or any other time. First, I had to recognize my own symptoms and then, for far too long, I just learned to live with it. What has helped me is the counseling I’ve received.

God has never created anyone who was, is, or will be less than His best creation. I know that to be true. And I hope you will believe that also. I have always believed it to be true about my children, grandchildren, my husband Jeff, and myself. This doesn’t make us perfect, by any means though.

Even blatantly evil people, didn’t start out being evil, they became that way through their conscious and sub-conscious decisions about themselves.

The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Are you or I living up to all that God has made us to be?” You may not feel that you are doing that right now. You are the one who can change it though.

Depression has rob me of my joy for life more times than I want to think about. When I did try counseling, it seemed the counselor could never pinpoint what was wrong with me. Finding the right counselor has been a journey in itself.

But, even without having a therapist, I have always found the strength I needed for each day by reading and meditating on God’s word. By doing that I finally pulled out of those “valleys of the shadow.” (Psalms 23:4).

You have potential in you that you’ve yet to reach the limit of. Life itself is constantly evolving. We’re not even aware of what half of our future goals and accomplishments are going to be.

Life will have its disappointments, to be sure. But that might be an opportunity for you to change your life’s path. Be flexible with your goals. Strengthen your resolve to be a better decision maker next time around.

Believe in yourself and make decisions that will put you on a positive track for your life. Don’t follow the group. And don’t be manipulated by a charismatic personality that just wants you around to feed their own insecure ego.

Read about great leaders. Let quality people mentor you through their writings or their life’s story written by someone else. When Dwight Eisenhower was a teenager growing up in Abilene, Kansas he began setting goals for himself to reach. He was preparing himself for stepping into leadership roles that were yet in his unseen future.

Later he became a young officer during WWI. Even then he was put in charge of things usually reserved for older officers. During WWII General Eisenhower was placed in charge of all Allied troop movement in Europe.

Then, after helping to win WWII through his strategic planning, he became our 34th President. He was ready for each advancement because of his teenage preparation for accepting responsibility and showing leadership. Way before he became President Eisenhower, he knew that he had to be the leader in his own life, first.

You and I are the leader of our lives. And each of us are preparing for our future, as well. Each of us is writing our own life’s story one day at a time. There are times when life seems to be overwhelming for any of us. No one’s the exception when it comes to life’s problems. You need to prepare for those times today.

What do we do when we’re overwhelmed with problems? Everyone will have different ideas on this, so I’ll just tell you what I do.

First, I reason with myself that there is a solution to this problem. I include my husband Jeff in the decision making. Maybe I’ll ask a few trusted friends what they would do. I try not to make a “knee jerk” impulse decision about anything.

In decision making or even giving a verbal response, I avoid using those quick responses that come from our amygdala region. This is where our “fight or flight” quick thinking comes from. But, it’s also where a lot of impulsive hateful comments come from. Or choosing to “flight” rather than solve the situation.

Having a quick response does sometime pay off, though. An example of this is when I was breaking up a small mound of dirt in my yard a few years ago in early Spring. Little did I know that over the winter a copperhead snake had hibernated in that mound. I was fortunate enough to see the tail end of that unmistakable pattern of a venomous snake slither around as the cold air entered its hideaway.

Well, I could’ve, and might should’ve killed it easily enough with my shovel, but I decided since it hadn’t seen me, I ran to the back deck that was close by. “Let it slither off to somewhere else,” I reasoned. I decided in an instant that it was not my “fight moment,” but my “flight moment.” Now, I never saw it or any other snake in my yard since then.

My mother would’ve killed it, though. She grew up on a farm during the Great Depression. She and her siblings were trained to kill a snake whether it was in the garden or the yard. They always had a hoe handy.

My childhood was different than my mother’s even though we were both raised in the country. When my oldest brother, Gene saw a poisonous snake in our yard he killed it. So, I never had to hone my snake killing skills like my mother and her siblings had to.

There are going to be times where you’ll have to choose between equally good decisions. Your ideas will be based upon who you are at your core personality. I did take a risk in not killing the snake. Because once they’re in the yard then they usually come back to that place. But I knew Jeff would mow over it soon enough, anyway.

Sometimes a decision is made based on what seems best to you. It’s nether all that bad or all that great. Either way it’s not going to be earth-shattering. So just go with what seems best in your own reasoning.

I want to make clear that one bad decision doesn’t mean a lifetime of bad decisions. That is if you recognize why you made the bad decision, in the first place. An example of this happened a summer ago to me. I was pulling up to a stop light here in my hometown of Sylva, NC. It’s still a small town, even though it’s grown a bit since my childhood years of growing up near here.

So, the light had just changed to green and I had a few cars in front of me. I was patiently waiting for them all to move forward when a young woman plowed into the back of my SUV with her tiny car. When I looked at it I was amazed that she didn’t go under my Explorer.

Well, I got out to survey the damage and realized she was doing her best to back up and drive off. Hmm, I wondered, “How far she was going to get with the engine ‘sitting in her lap?’” Needless to say she didn’t get far, maybe twenty feet at the most.

So, I called 911 and the police officer that showed up also happens to be my neighbor. We talked a bit privately, then he told me to drive my SUV on home.

Well, that’s when I called Jeff and gave him the “skinny” of it all and asked him to come to where this accident had happened. I didn’t want to drive our Explorer home. So, when he got there, we exchanged vehicles and I drove our Focus home.

Right after the accident, before my neighbor arrived on the scene, I walked over to the other car, (I know, I’m a trusting individual). I was on the phone, so I asked the two women who were still in their tiny car if they needed medical help.

That’s when I observed the obvious. Both the driver and the passenger were intoxicated on drugs, and unable to make clear sense of what just happened. So, I instinctively stepped back and waited for the officer.

Long story short, the local dealership fixed my Explorer perfectly, even though it did take three months to complete it. The body shop manager told me that my tow hitch helped to slow them down some. (And may have saved their lives). Now, we keep the traditional ball hitch in the slot as a precaution.

So, what about the young woman that was driving the tiny car? I found out through my connections that she has had addiction problems in her past. And things weren’t getting better for her.

In my church on Sunday mornings we pass clip boards that have sheets of lined paper on them down each section for people to write their prayer request, or just to add their name, and leave the line blank. These requests are prayed for by our prayer team on another day.

On the Sunday morning after the accident I wrote this young woman’s first name on the prayer list. And I have also prayed for her myself that the unseen chains that have enslaved her are broken. She, like all the rest of us have an amazing life ahead of us. And we just need to get out there and live it.

When you have a tough problem to solve just go to your knees in prayer for answers. And you might not be the only one who is praying for you. When you pray, you will receive an answer just like I’ve received answers to my prayers.

Naomi, From Depression to Joy

Naomi is introduced to us in the first chapter of the Book of Ruth. In the story she suffered from depression, just like we still do today. She even changed her name to “Mara” (which means bitter, or feelings of grief) to reflect her dark mood (1: 20).

Peoples’ emotions haven’t changed all that much since Naomi’s time. That’s because depression has no time boundaries, no race preferences, no cultural favoritism. And no social-economic bias. Depression just is no matter the background or the era.

Depression is often overlooked by family members, sometimes misdiagnosed by professionals. And the result of either one is disappointing, to say the least.

Naomi’s depression happened because she had lost all her family members over a span of ten years. She had a right to go through deep sorrow. I don’t know how long her dark mood lasted but seems like it lingered for a while.

I relate to Naomi not because of her loss, but because of her depression. I’ve been in and out of different types of therapy for depression for years, with only minimal results. So, I know what I’m talking about when I say, “less than desired results.” Oh, I would feel good for a while after a few sessions of counseling but, like all feelings, it just didn’t last very long.

Something for me had to change. And, thank God it did. Over the last three years I’ve been going to a therapist that’s taken in my life’s “full picture.” And it helped that I felt I could connect with her from the beginning.

The type of counseling she uses is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). Sometimes this is called “talk therapy,” and it has given me a huge amount of relief. I feel as normal and happy with life as is humanly possible. I wake up each morning with an eagerness to live a fresh new day in my life. Since I started this type of therapy, I’m managing depression much better now.

I want the same healing for you if you are suffering with depression. Or if not you, then someone you know. There are different kinds of depression, but there are also different types of therapy. If CBT hasn’t worked for you, then find another type that will work better for you.

None of us have endless amounts of time to straighten things out. Our lives are running ahead of us, and often at lightning speed. Don’t let depression be your life’s story. We all are more valuable than that.

Naomi did experience an emotional healing in time. Even to this day, she points the way for us on how to overcome depression. But how did she experience this healing?

I hope this brief look into how she overcame depression will be as helpful to you as it has been for me, even though I have dysthymic (chronic) depression.

I want to encourage you to read the Book of Ruth. It’s found in the Old Testament and is only four chapters long. But, don’t let its brevity fool you into thinking there’s not much teaching in it. Like all the Bible, it has multi-layered messages written all through it, and is forever fresh and relevant for us today.

In this story, Naomi is a background personality. She was the older woman who connected Ruth to her new husband Boaz. Their great-grandson became King David and ruled over Israel. But who was Naomi outside of her pivotal role of being a Jewish matchmaker? And how was she healed of depression?

Her story is enveloped between the larger story of Ruth meeting Boaz and then marrying him. But before that took place, we’re introduced to Naomi and her family. Elimelech was her husband, and her two sons were Mahlon, and Chilion. They lived in the Jewish town of Bethlehem. But when that area had a drought, they moved to a country across the Dead Sea called Moab. Today it’s called Jordan.

Now the Moabites spoke a different language, practiced a different religion, and had a different culture. But this young Jewish family even in spite of all of that, had high hopes of doing well in Moab. They moved there to farm, since it was a lush, green country known as a “place of many oasis.”

Not long after moving there Elimelech dies. Naomi and her two sons decide to stay on and continue farming. Well, Mahlon and Chilion grow up and marry two Moabite women. One is Ruth and the other Orpah. Ruth, of course, is the center focus in this eloquent story.

Then, ten years later both sons pass away. No children are mentioned being born to either couple during that ten years. So, now we see Naomi living in a foreign country with two young women she’s no longer related to. This is where we see Naomi’s personality come to the forefront. It’s also where we see her depression sit in.

I believe her depression moved over her from day to day, like surging waves that crash on the beach. That’s like the depression I’ve experienced. And perhaps you, as well.

After her sons’ passing Naomi decides to sell the farm and move back to Bethlehem. I believe being separated from her extended Jewish family increased her depression. She knew she would feel better being back around them. Once her mind was made up, she saw no need in putting off this difficult trip.

It’s clear to me that Naomi held on to her faith and missed her worship services in Bethlehem. That’s where she worshiped God with other Jewish believers. This also, helped to restore joy in her life.

Being active in my church has helped me. I’ve met many other Christian women there that I’ve emotionally and prayerfully supported like they have me. Fellowship, and Bible study are a part of my mental wellness plan.

Just like Naomi, people down through the ages have had or will have depression. I want to encourage you to not let depression go untreated. There are effective cures being used to treat this form of mental illness.

I see Naomi as a realist, and a pragmatist. She saw life as it is, not how she wished it to be. Once she planned to do something then she became resolute in carrying it out. That helped her in solving difficult problems, which then helped her in overcoming depression.

Now Orpah and Ruth wanted to travel with Naomi to Bethlehem. In preparation, each woman would’ve made sure they had some fresh water stored in a dried animal skin, several loaves of unleavened baked bread, and roasted grain for their evening meal. They also had cakes of figs and clusters of raisins for stamina and quick energy while they were traveling. This would’ve been their common “travel food.”

So, after gathering up their small bundles the three women start out on this arduous journey together. But they hadn’t gone far when Naomi takes the leadership role and told the two young women to go back to their mothers’ homes (1:8,9).

Like Naomi, you’re not going to get better unless you show leadership in your own life. If you’re unsure of which direction to go in, then seek some guidance from someone that you trust.

Avoid taking negative advice from someone who demeans you. And don’t take advice from someone who won’t meet even their own expectations or potential.

Naomi only wanted the best for these two young women and didn’t want them to take unnecessary risks. But she was a woman with a strong will. And not afraid to take a calculated risk.

Naomi had been the glue that held her family together. She had mentored and cared for all of them. That’s why the two women wanted to go with her. She had taught them all about the Jewish faith during their time in Moab. How do I know that? At the time of their departure Ruth told Naomi that she wanted to follow “your God.”

Now when Naomi said her goodbyes to these two younger women something significant took place at that dusty crossroads. Let’s find out exactly what happened.

A Brief Look At Orpah

There they were, three women standing at the crossroads of not only their physical direction, but also their life’s direction. And it didn’t take long for Orpah to change her mind.

It did seem logical for her to go visit her family. But, in truth she longed for the lifestyle she had before she married. She was tied to her past. The past in in the past and none of us can change it, nor relive it.

Orpah, looked too closely at the problem instead of looking at the big-picture solution. Because of this she bought more problems on herself than had she gone with Naomi.

Orpah may sound like someone we might know. Or one of us. We get started on the right track, but things just don’t seem to last beyond a few months or so. We lose our focus then our ambition slowly ebbs away. Then, we begin a new set of “self-improvement” plans. I want to encourage you to stop the “yo yo cycle” of self-improvements. Like I’ve said, I’ve been there, done that. There is a better way.

I’m only surmising about Orpah’s life, but I believe she “pushed the easy button” many times in solving her life’s problems. She seems to have lacked problem-solving skills that would’ve brought some order to her life. That makes her no different than many of us.

A Brief Look At Ruth

Ruth would not be swayed from leaving Naomi’s side. Instead she spoke these immortal words to Naomi:

“But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried.” 1: 16,17 (ESV)

We learn about Naomi by looking at Ruth. Why would this young woman even consider taking this dangerous journey? They could’ve died of thirst and/ or starvation during their journey. And how long would it take them to walk or ride in a caravan approximately a hundred miles?

Naomi and Ruth obviously, had a strong loyal bond of friendship between them. And Ruth was the type to think through her decisions before making them. Doing this kept her from being indecisive.

While they were under Naomi’s teachings in Moab, Ruth became a Jewish convert. But, apparently hadn’t made it known until the start of their journey. That’s when she made a public profession of faith to Naomi.

Naomi must’ve had a nurturing personality to have had Ruth so drawn to her. The two of them spent quality time together even before their trip. Ruth severed all connections to her past. Doing that helped her to plan a brighter future for herself.

When they got settled in Bethlehem, Naomi didn’t go out into the fields. I think Ruth told her to rest in their home, while she went out in the hot sun to gather barley.

Well, Ruth happened to gather barley in the field of a man related to Elimelech. The owner was named Boaz. And he observed how this young foreign woman took care of the older Jewish woman that lived with her, which impressed him. He started asking others who she was. (2:11).

Naomi

I believe Naomi stayed in Moab because she got caught up in the routine of busyness. Busyness can consume our time, but it’s not very fulfilling. Busyness always leave us feeling empty and wondering if life has more meaning then just the routine.

In the middle of her busyness, Naomi got blind-sighted by events she didn’t expect to happen. At first her husband then her sons passed away. She could’ve let her grief rob her of any joy she might’ve had in the future. But she didn’t.

Moving back to Bethlehem helped Naomi find joy again. Her relatives still remembered her as having been a joyful person in her younger years.

I relate with Naomi on moving back to a place she called home. I experienced joy when Jeff and I moved back to Western North Carolina where I’m from. I had left my hometown of Sylva, some thirty years before, being a single young woman. A few years later I joined the Air Force, and met my future husband, Jeff.

We both were stationed at the same air base in Germany and married there. When my enlistment was up, I received an Honorable Discharge. We had our first child by then, and I wanted to stay home with her. He reenlisted, though and made USAF his career. Along the way we added two more precious daughters to our family.

Thirteen years later we moved to Shaw AFB, SC. We had been out of the country for six straight years. Three of those were spent in Turkey where I drove very little and never off base.

So, I was glad to be back in America and drive anywhere I needed or wanted to go. But not long after settling there, I began longing for us to move back to my hometown of Sylva, NC. I still had extended family living in the area and missed the mountains. Jeff’s from Monroe, Georgia. Moving there never interested me.

Well, Jeff only had a few more years to finish his career when we moved to SC. However, we ended up staying thirteen years in Sumter. Our girls finished school there, and I finished my credits and graduated nearby Coker College during some of that time. Then, we just got busy with life. Finally, after our girls left the house, we began making plans to move up to the Sylva, NC area. I relate with Naomi on so many levels.

Naomi’s joy also came back because she changed her focus from herself to others. Her problems became smaller by her doing that.

Ruth had become like a daughter to her by this time. It was in taking the older woman’s advice that Ruth was able to capture Boaz’s attention and his heart.

Boaz and Ruth married and had a son named Obed, who had a son named Jesse. He had a son named David who became King over Israel.

In moving back Naomi became involved with life in her village. The women socialized with each other during their daily chores. This is where she began bringing joy back, not only in her life, but in others as well. She understood that life is bigger than her own personal problems.

She had set a goal of moving back home. After that her goal was for Ruth to meet Boaz. Naomi kept setting goals for herself and became involved with life again. And she let the rest take care of itself. And it did.

In the end, Naomi had a complete emotional healing. She was happy and contented. This can happen in your life as well if you seek God’s will for your life. Don’t expect everything to work out as you’ve planned it, though. God’s plans are higher than ours.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

How Do You Vent Your Anger?

“‘And Job again took up his discourse, and said:

“As God lives, who has taken away my right,
and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,
as long as my breath is in me,
and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,

my lips will not speak falsehood,
    and my tongue will not utter deceit.
Far be it from me to say that you are right;
    till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
    my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.'” Job 27:1-6 (ESV)