Desperate by Sarah Mae Chapter 5

This chapter is called: When the Dark Invades.

If you have ever suffered from depression (post partum or otherwise), this chapter was written for you. Two moms. Two different stories. Both have had periods of depression, darkness or sadness.  What is interesting is reading about it from a Christian perspective. Not from counselors, but from women who have been-there-done-that.  I have BTDT, too. When I gave birth to my second child, I ended up in a dark spiral that nearly took my whole family down a black hole.  We scraped through it, but the grace of God, but some of the damage lasts until today and it was more than 15 years ago! If you have never been depressed, you can read this chapter, but if you ever have been, you will want to inhale it. You will want to read it three or four times, just to convince yourself that – yes – these ladies have been right where you have been.  There is no shame in admitting that the bone-crushing exhaustion that sometimes accompanies motherhood, along with it’s nasty accessory, depression, have visited your home. The real shame is when we pretend everything is fine, leaving others to feel alone in their struggle. Along with the decidedly practical advice that will help during times of depression or ordinary sadness, there is also a lot to consider spiritually, and these ladies cover it.

“God has an unimaginable amount of love for us, His children. It is a truth that Satan will always try to suggest is a lie. Once you start going down that road of feeling invisible and thinking God doesn’t care, the natural consequence is despair-the dark hole where faith cannot exist.”

There is hope for mothers feeling desperate. The application questions ask the following: Do you view Jesus as your protector and provider? Yes, thank goodness I do.  I have been through some very difficult moments (sometimes months at a time) where I have had no place to turn except to Him.  I found that by continuing to repeat the TRUTH I did know, from God’s word, that my own soul was much improved. My mood was more stable. My mind was more right. And each time I turned to Him and He met my needs, what I knew in my mind was joined with the knowledge of my heart as well. Looking forward to the next chapter: Lack of Training. Would you like to see the other posts about this book? http://www.homemaking911.com/2013/07/29/working-my-way-through-desperate-by-sarah-mae-and-sally-clarkson/

On this topic, here is a blog post I did awhile back called: What to do when you have the blues:

http://www.homemaking911.com/2011/11/28/what-to-do-when-you-have-the-blues/