And She Got Depressed

 

Mary was working in a Federal University somewhere in the North Central part of Nigeria. She was earning regularly and able to support her family. The family was happy. She was happy. Everything was going on fine save for one thing; the family lived in the South Western part of the country. Despite this condition, they made the family work through God’s help. Her job was relatively flexible. Besides, she was running a PhD programme in the South West, so she had a legit reason to travel to the South West very often.

Along the line, Mary got pregnant with their second child. And at about that same time, tribal and religious crisis began in the town where she worked. She thought long and hard about what she had to do. She spoke with her husband about her thoughts of leaving the job earlier than they had previously decided. The decision was made. Once she came home on maternity leave, she wasn’t going back to the North.

So, Mary quit her job. After she had the baby, everything seemed cool as she had her hands full with the new baby. She started scouting for another job. She now had bagged her PhD and she thought that getting a job would be a walk in the park.

But alas, she was wrong. She had been at home for a year, and nothing showed up. That gradually turned into 2 years of looking for a job with a PhD certificate without result & it was no longer funny.

And then, it was 3 years after she had left her job & still nothing.

Did I mention that she was running a small business from home. But that wasn’t fulfilling at all. Besides, the proceed was absolutely too meager coupled with the treatment she got sometimes from some uncultured customers. She was called to teach. She knew her path but that path seemed blurred.

What really gave her Joy was writing. She wrote book after book and ministered at programmes from time to time during that period. She poured herself into influencing people from her corner. It was all good. She was joyful.

Until something hit her. Mr depression visited her. She opened the door to him. She had been trying to stay strong. She had shut him out every single time the guy had come knocking. But this time, she had no will power to shut him out. He slid into her inner chambers and that was it.

Things changed. She no longer had the zeal to do anything. She would remain in her room for hours doing nothing in particular. She was no longer the radiant, jovial person at home. Keeping the home organized was no longer appealing to her. She didn’t feel like it. She stopped watching TV. She was edgy and touchy. She declared her confectionery business shut down until further notice. She literally became a shadow of herself. She was angry about everything. She stopped writing. She stopped engaging people on social media. She just wasn’t feeling any of the activities that she engaged in before.

Her husband became confused at the sudden change in his wife. She was no longer her joyful self. She was no longer as chatty as she was. She flared up at any slight provocation. Her mouth was always filled with words of encouragement for herself and others but now she was mute.

This went on for about a month…

Then one midnight, she woke up from her sleep and felt like talking to someone. She felt like she was about to collapse under some weight. She went into the living room and started talking to God about how she felt. Did I mention that she had stopped really fellowshipping with God with zeal, during the downtime? She broke down in tears. She was ministered to in the place of encounter. She poured her heart out. It felt like a heavy weight was lifted from her shoulders.

She went back to sleep lighter than she had felt in a long while. She woke up with songs of praise to God on her lips. She resumed her life with a greater sense of purpose.

Barely one week later, she was invited for another job interview.

It was a job she had applied for, and felt that the location was perfect for her but didn’t get that actually triggered her season of depression. She had felt like she had no more hope of getting a job that year as most schools had resumed. She reckoned that since appointments usually took place at the start of the session and that period had passed, it was done for the year. She thought about the possibility of staying home for another whole year.

And that, was depressing. It was already almost four years of sitting at home.

She attended the interview in November and was asked to pick up her appointment letter that same month. She resumed on the 1st of December of that year and she has been enjoying God’s grace and favour on the job.

She looks back and is now grateful to God for allowing her go through that period of waiting. She actually achieved quite a lot with respect to her writing during that period. She learnt a lot from that season. She was about to give up when her breakthrough was around the corner.

O, see how cunny and devious the devil is!

But thank God she finally overcame.

 

---

 

The last name of that Mary is Omosebi. Yeah, that was me. ☺

You were probably expecting me to inform you that this was fiction but it isn’t 😉

I wasn’t thinking of sharing this but it was impressed on my spirit to do so. I believe someone needs to see this. 

 

---

 

I’ve been there. So, I understand. Many people didn’t know what I was going through. And they couldn’t have guessed. A few of my closest friends that I hinted about some of these things after it all went down, didn’t believe it.

 

---

 

I came out of it rather quickly. Some people remain in that state for a very long time and even die there.

 

---

 

We have an example of someone who got depressed in the Bible- David…

You should take time to read that story in 1Samuel 30

It seemed like the world was against David. His wives were taken captive and his people turned against him. Nothing seemed to be doing on well. He was downcast. He was discouraged because despite the fact that he was a mighty warrior, he was human.

He however did what we must all emulate when problems come our way- HE ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN THE LORD.

You must rise from the place of sadness and hopelessness by yourself. You might need other people’s help but the decision lies on you to stay down or rise up.

Not until David arose from his state of depression did he enjoy great breakthrough. He called on God and he received direction for the future.

We must be mindful what we think about. Our thoughts must pass through the litmus test of Philippians 4:8:

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse…”

 

---

 

Prevention, they say, is better than cure.

As a child of God, it is best to fortify your soul with the Word of God. Since the soul is the seat of our emotions, it is imperative that we do all to guard our hearts with all diligence.

There must be a plan on ground to deal with difficulty when it knocks on our doors. This is because, life happens. Storms are bound to hit our boats at one point or the other during our sojourn on earth. For us to overcome, we need to saturate our hearts with the Words of God; ahead of time. This is an exercise that we must repeat over and over so that we are so prepared and finely trained that when trials and difficulties come, we will be able to fall back upon that which has become second nature to us. We learn to respond by reflex action. We need regular discipline of spiritual training to fine-tune our reflexes.

If we wait until crisis hits and only then turn to the Scriptures, then we won’t be as prepared; and we will be more vulnerable to the enemy.

We need to pay more attention to the state of our minds.

We need to care more about people.

The strongest of us sometimes get hit by battles that weigh us down in life. What will determine if you win or lose is how battle ready you were in the first place.

We all have our private battles. Yours might be lack, and another’s might be marital distress or delay in conception. Whatever it is, know that you are not alone. God is with you in that fire of life and He will not allow you be consumed by it. God is with you and cares about every aspect of your life. He loves you so dearly. Remember also that whatever it is you are going through right now is for a divine purpose. And all things work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose. Cling onto the comfort that God offers and know that time will come when you will need to comfort someone else with the same comfort that you have received. That way your message will be more impactful because you have been there.

Remember, it’s just a phase and this too shall pass.

Believe always that all will be well!

Be encouraged!

© OMOSEBI Mary Omolola, PhD

 

---

---

 

You will find this 👇 impactful too. Click on the button below to read the post

Practical steps to take when discouraged