Part V - Have you been down in the dumpsters? I have…

"It's not what happens to you. It's what you do BEFORE it, DURING it, and AFTER it." Alan Weiss.

San Francisco (Land's End) October 2016 (iPhone 6)

How do you feel when you hear words like Jesus, Christian, Christ follower, Saved, Ransom, Church? 2 years ago, these words and others associated seemed so foreign to me. I could not understand why people would leave "big decisions" in God's hands or say things like they would trust in God's perfect timing. I did not like anyone who mentioned God in their conversations as if He was just a guy down the block, like they had this close friendship or relationship with Him I did not see possible to have. This all seemed nonsense, I could not trust that the answer was within me through Him and I searched and searched in many different ways. Some curious spiritual things happened to me and I had happy moments, all which led me to experience short bursts of peace and happiness… but then all would vanish and I would feel sad and alone again.

When I would feel depleted from trying so hard to do the right thing and growing all by myself, I would then run to what I knew as my comfort zone. Right as change was about to happen in my life I would not find the strength to endure and stay. I would give up, cheat myself out of the process and return to square one. When I least noticed, I was done!! I was fighting anxiety, fear, and depression… I was one more of the statistics for 2015.

Yup! 2015 was the worse year of my life by far and I'm sure that most of you who are reading this have felt the same at some point or feel like this at this moment. Isn't it good to know we are not alone? I mean look, the numbers don't lie. Did you know that in 2015, 1 out of 20 Americans, 12 years of age or older was diagnosed with depression? (CDC - Mental Health department)

Tell me you haven't thought like I did at some point: There has to be a better way to go through life. The good news: THERE IS A WAY!