I am excited to introduce you to Andy Lee. Though we haven’t met in person—yet—we are tied together in many areas. Andy and I both live in North Carolina, had books come out the same day, by the same publishers, and we share the same agent! What’s more, we both love how the women in the Bible speak to us today.
I’m reading her new book and gaining many insights. Here is a post from Andy on A Mary Like Me: Flawed yet Called. Don’t miss the giveaway at the end of the post. Now here’s Andy.
Dreams Chased Away My Depression
By Andy Lee
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
Bio: Andy Lee is a new 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). She’s a mom to three grown children and a kitty named Hank. Andy, her hubby, Mike, and Hank live on the coast of North Carolina where she writes about finding purpose beyond today on her website: wordsbyandylee.com.
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Please join Debbie at the Barnes & Noble in Cary, NC on April 28th, 2016 at 7 p.m.
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Thank you for this! I have been struggling for a long time with depression. Lately it has gotten better with reading and reminding myself of Gods promises to us as His children.
Julie, God loves you! He definitely wants to give you good gifts and have you enter His joy!
Julie, do not give up. Victory can be yours. I know because I suffered with depressive cycles for 30 years. Sure over the years the cycles got fewer and less severe, but I still had them. They were caused by what I was thinking and telling myself. A cycle was starting one day and I went into a room and saw a verse (Phil 4:8) on the wall that I had memorized 40 years ago and it clicked. What I was thinking was a lie, I called it such, decided I would not think about that, and instead think about what God said about what I was thinking. Which, obviously, was diametrically opposed to what I was thinking. Total victory was not overnight, but I had fewer depressive incidents and they were not as bad. I probably have not had a depressive incident in about 2 years now. Sure plenty has happened that I could be depressed about, but I immediately think about God: His power, His might, His provision, His care, His faithfulness, etc. To God be the glory! The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the Lord (Prov 21:31).
Alan, what a beautiful story of hope and the power that comes from renewing our minds in truth. We take our thoughts captive, and God transforms us! Glory to God!
Very powerful. Dreams have so much healing power and it’s a big clue that we are out of alignment with God when we no longer dream! Thank you for sharing this.
Ann, I agree. We all need something to hope for and work towards. I think that is how God made us.
Debbie, this is so good! I look
forward to reading Andy’s book.
May we be reminded of His
Faithfulness & dare to dream
again.
Amen, Marilyn!
To stop my reoccurring cycles of depression, I had to pay attention to my self-talk, what was I telling myself. Then, I had to look at what I was telling myself and determine if that was true in God’ view, in His light. If it was not, and it almost never was, then I called it a lie. Next, I stopped telling myself that lie or thinking about it, and, instead focused on God: His goodness, His faithfulness, His provision, etc. Whatever applied to the current lie. Victory was not overnight, but over time I had fewer depressive incidents and they were not as depressive. Glory be to God! Phil 4:8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great reminder to look to God and enjoy Him first.
Thanks
Sandi, that is a habit we all need if we are to live in hope!
What an invitation to read this new book! Thanks, Debbie! This piques my interest more than a little bit as I chase after some of my own dreams that have been laying dusty on the shelf. Andy has grabbed my attention and nudged me to go deeper into her story. Thanks for sharing this here! What an encouragement!
Love and blessings,
Pam
Wonderful, Pam. Pursue those dreams in the power of the Holy Spirit and He’ll do more than you can imagine!
I enjoyed this post because even in your later years{I’m 71} there is a tendency to tell yourself you never had dreams or goals , often forgetting that things such as getting a college degree or planning for a family were worthwhile goals. In today’s world there is the idea that {you can do it all} and it makes you feel your own goals and dreams weren’t “good enough”. I believe my 19 year old granddaughter is struggling to form her own identity. Without God directing your path there will be no peace about who you are and what you are meant to do in life. As a grandmother to two 19 year olds, I again have , by worldly standards, a simple goal -to help my grandchildren see and know the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Carol, your goal pleases God and reaps eternal benefits. Can’t beat that!
This is beautiful. I can’t help but think of the verse- where there is no vision, the people perish. My husband and I found this happening to us after 10 years on the mission field, but Jesus is so faithful and is restoring our dreams. It’s amazing how much life vision gives! Thanks for sharing.
Brooke, I’ve found that to be true too. Sometimes He leads us by still waters and makes us lie down so He can restore our souls and our dreams. Bless you!
Debbie thank you for introducing us to Andy and her new book “A Mary Like Me”. It sounds lovely and dreaming is something I need to do more of in my life. My younger son encourages me to dream and he knows the importance of it. I combat depression with exercise especially by walking. Something about being outside in nature is a gift and fills my heart.
Blessed to be your neighbor at Messy Marriage today! 🙂
Mary, isn’t it amazing how being in fresh air close to God’s creation lifts our spirits. Thanks for visiting!
Sounds like a great read, Andi! Thanks for introducing us to your book and your heart, my friend! After all, any friend of Debbie’s is a friend of mine! Blessing to you both!
You make me smile, Beth!
I kneel on the floor and pour out my heart…and pray over His Word…
when life has weight pulling my heart to the pit…
Carrie, it’s amazing how He meets us when we are low and draw near to Him!
I find that walking in the park and listening to K-Love help when I’m feeling down. Like others have said, a big part is to not listen to the lies Satan whispers in my head – replace them with scripture and God’s truths.
MJ, I agree. Choosing what we listen to and don’t listen to is so very important. You’ve just described a key weapon to winning the battle in our mind.
Oh, how I love the way she wrote being empty is a good thing! I never thought of it like this! But it’s true! At my most empty I have nothing and nobody left: only The One who longs for me to call out to Him and tell Him I need Him! Thank you for sharing!
Carrie, isn’t that the truth? Thanks for visiting!