About Amy

Amy is a scattered single mom of four who's learning to cling to Grace. Redeemed at seven, it wasn't until tragedy struck at age thirty-seven that God blew her away with His amazing love for her. A Texas school librarian who dreams of becoming a full-time writer some day, she is passionate about sharing His love with those who are lost, wandering, and without hope. Amy blogs regularly about her adventures as an accidental missionary at Amy in Wanderland. You can also connect with her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

Clawing your way out of a funk

March 24, 2012 By 3 Comments


As my daughter worked through months and months of grieving following her father’s death, I watched her morph into a completely different child. She became very depressed, and we were forced to seek professional treatment that included doctors, medicines, even a hospitalization or two. Now, coming out of the valley, we’re starting to really experience life restored and made brand new. At her last doctor’s appointment, the kind old psychiatrist declared her healed. “I see no remaining symptoms of depression in your daughter.”

Praise God. These were the words I’d been longing to hear for months. But he explained that in patients recovering from depression, we must watch for recurrence.

I asked the doctor exactly what to watch for. “Sadness, irritability, weight changes…”.

“What else?”

“Loss of sleep, anger, decrease in work performance ….” But this doctor has been around and I’m sure he could see on my face what I was desperately trying to keep stuffed inside my heart. He continued, “And why are you asking, Mom?”

Maybe it was the way he looked at me. Maybe it was the compassion in his voice. Or maybe it was because I was suddenly smacked upside the head with the realization that I was the depressed person in the room. I’d held it together for two and a half years into this grief journey, but things had finally caught up with me and the tears threatened to pour right there in my daughter’s therapy session.

Driving home, I thought about how to go about seeking treatment. But then I thought about how I’d like to beat this without meds. As I drove, I brainstormed. It was on that day that I came up with a plan to claw my way out of my funk.

All-natural ways to beat depression without ingesting pills of any kind:

1. Eat more whole foods, doing away with all refined foods when possible. 

2. Set an earlier bed time and stick to it. Set an earlier (but reasonable) alarm and don’t push snooze in the mornings.

3. Move as much as possible, even if all you have time for is a ten-minute walk twice a week. Something is better than nothing.

4. Pray more. I mean, really, really talk to God and get still enough to listen.

5. Spend time in the Word. Find a Bible study you love and dig in deep.

6. Use your gifts. Do you sing? Hop to it. Do you serve? Get busy. Can you write? For a blogger it might just be the best therapy of all.

Did you ever stop to think that maybe these hard moments God allows us to go through are great opportunities to find a deeper appreciation of the gifts He gave us? I don’t mean mere talent. What about the nutritious bounty of the earth, or a soft mattress to fall into at night, or the awesome privilege of talking to Him and hearing from Him through His Word, or the good health that allows us to move and serve and create and bless others?

It’s such a shame when we don’t take full advantage of what He’s blessed us with. I acknowledge that there are just times when severe depression warrants medical treatment (as in my daughter’s case). But why not give these things a try anyway? You know, just to see what happens.

Do you know some tricks to beating depression?

Filed Under: Emotional, Physical, Spiritual Tagged With: , , , , 3 Comments

Slipping

January 7, 2012 By 32 Comments

As much as I love my kids, our home has become a place of turmoil lately.

Their words have grown harsh toward one another, their tones hateful. Why shouldn’t I be rude to him when he’s always rude to me? And the excuses abound, each one bringing me down (because how do you teach them to love each other when all they want to do is yell?).

So I try looking past the way things appear in search of a sign it’ll all be okay. But this is all I can see and I want to give up. I just don’t know how to raise these kids on my own.

And here I go losing ground again on this uphill journey that wearies me so, that familiar old pit looming large beneath me. I grasp at whatever I can find so I don’t slip deeper into the mire, and for the zillionth time I’m back to the point of desperation.

Can a broken family ever be normal again?

And I’m dwelling on the wrong things again, blind to the Help standing before me. He’s never out of reach, and just when I’m ready to kick and scream and throw one of my fits again because this just isn’t fair, it’s then that I sense His whisper.

Let it all go and cling to Me, beloved.

And then I see for the zillionth time that He’s been there all along, waiting patiently for His stubborn child to just let it all go and reach for her Father. All those times I forgot to cling to Him, He was holding me up anyway.

Cling. It’s my one word for the new year, and I believe it’s a word that can turn lives around, depending on what you reach for–because when you decide to cling to something, it means you have to let go of everything else.

So in the coming year, I’ll turn loose of the old and cling to the promise that He makes all things new. I’ll let go of logic and cling to the fact that He is Provider. I’ll relax my hold on the things of this world and cling to the Treasure that endures for eternity. When darkness sets in, I’ll cling to the light of His truth.

And in those times when everything falls apart–especially then–I’ll reach for that strong, steady Vine whose roots run deep, for He is my one and only hope for staying out of the pit.

No matter what horrible things are going on around us, the one thing we can control in this life is what we decide to reach for.

It’s a new year. It’s time to watch for that new thing He’s doing. And when I haven’t the energy to cling, all I have to do is want to. He knows the desires of my heart, and He is faithful to place His big gentle hand over my weary one and help me take hold.

What will you cling to this year? A line from an old hymn comes to mind: I will cling to the old rugged Cross…. 

But even more than that, I pray we cling to the One who died on that cross to redeem our lives from destruction and give us hope for abundance beyond anything our limited minds can fathom.

He’s the One I’ll cling to, and I’m hanging on for dear life. How about you?

I will lift up my eyes to the hills–from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. (Psalm 121:1-3 NKJV)

photo credit

Filed Under: Emotional, One Word, Revolution, Spiritual Tagged With: 32 Comments