What to do when life gets you down.

When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do?
Just keep swimming.-Dory
from the movie Finding Nemo

The other day I got up and went about my morning routine.
Coffee. Turn computer on. Check email. Reheat coffee. Check Facebook.

Should have only taken me about 20 minutes to get caught up on things and then move on with the day.
Two hours later I was still sitting there jumping from one site to another, mindlessly surfing the internet with cold coffee.

Something was wrong.

I have plenty of things to do. Just keeping up with laundry and cleaning is enough to busy me for an entire day. Then there’s lesson plans, devotion writing, and books I want to read.

I went for a walk, because exercise is supposed to give you all these good feelings. It didn’t work, I came back more exhausted then I was before I left.

I just didn’t feel like doing anything.
I was anxious, edgy, irritable, tired and weepy.

After lunch I went back to bed, yes I said to bed. I mindlessly clicked through the enormous amount of channels we have, only to find there wasn’t anything on worth watching. So then I slept.

Something was definitely wrong.

I was in some sort of funk. Call it hormonal, or environmental or whatever. I wasn’t interested in doing anything, going anywhere or seeing anyone.

I let myself wallow for most of the day. I knew eventually I would need to do something to snap out of it.
I couldn’t let this continue.

Desperate for relief I prayed. And prayed and prayed and prayed.

Although I wouldn’t say I heard God speak relief into my heart, what I did hear was today’s quote.

“When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming.”

 I was so discouraged by this set back. I had been making great progress in writing. I created a dedicated blog just for these movie devotions. I was asked by my church to write for the church wide devotional and that was going well. I was exercising, eating healthy. Things were good with the hubby. Home, finances, kids all good.
I was miserable.

Could I really just push through whatever this thing was that was bringing me down? Simply just change my attitude? Shouldn’t I just go to the doctor?

Then it hit me. I wasted a whole day feeling bad and doing nothing.

Isn’t that exactly what the evil one wants to do to us? Have us waste time wallowing in our own issues instead of pursuing Godly things? My focus had become on myself and not on the things really important.

I had a choice to make. Be like Marlin and stay on the rock, afraid to move forward. Not willing to do what is necessary to stay on course. Or, I can let Dory take me by the fin and lead me forward.

Just keep swimming.

Luke 13:22 Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem.

Even knowing what awaited Him in Jerusalem, Jesus kept going.

Just keep swimming.

Philippians 3:11-13 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead Christ Jesus first possessed me.

We may not always move perfectly, but that shouldn’t hinder us from moving.

Just keep swimming.

Hebrews 12:3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up

We may suffer at times, but our struggles and suffering are nothing compared to what Jesus endured on the cross.

I made the choice to “keep swimming”. For me, that meant pushing through what I was feeling and continuing to do what I knew I should. I had to get up out of that bed and do something, anything productive. I couldn’t let myself get sidetracked.

I’ll admit it wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. No amount of channel and internet surfing will give me the same satisfaction as staying in God’s will with my life.

What does it look like for you to "keep swimming". Do you need to change your attitude? Are you slacking and need to work harder? Is it beyond your control? Maybe you need to make that appointment with your doctor after all.

Whatever you are facing, let God take you by the hand and lead you forward today.

Here’s the video clip from the movie. My prayer is it will uplift your spirit and get you swimming.