The abyss of January:

I have noticed the last few years that the month of January is one of the hardest months for me and includes some of my hardest moments.  My first year of teaching included my worst teaching and behavior issues plus my worst interaction with a parent.  Then last January, I had a lot of problems and stress around coordinating Large Group speech, and I had the death of my aunt, Rhonda.  This year, I had even more stress and problems coordinating “large group speech.”  I have noticed in the last few years of January, I have my biggest breakdowns where I spend the majority of at least two days crying.  

I am sure that I am not the only one who finds the month of January to be rough. There is incredibly cold weather, in the negative degrees, and high winds.  The days are shorter and the dark is out longer.  I often will wake up in the dark and then get home after the dark has started.  I am not seeing this time as  beautiful and abundant, but rather a time to get through. I know I am not the only one.  There is even the term, “seasonal depression,” for a reason, and it can be easier and easier for people to not find hope during this time in their lives.  

One quote that I found recently while writing this devotional is a quote by Charles R. Swindoll that says, “Hope is like an anchor. Our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life, but unlike an anchor, it does not hold us back.”  I really loved this quote because this described hope in such a beautiful way.  This quote reminds us that hope is like an anchor in that it is sturdy.  It is present in the rough times and does not fall over.  This is a good reminder for me to always find hope in all areas of life.  Even if the weather is bad, even if it is dark outside, and even if I am definitely exhausted, I can continually find hope in all areas of life.  

I also need to remember that many of the other people are also struggling through this month of January.  Even though I am frustrated with a lot of my students and my co-workers, I have to keep in mind that they are also probably frustrated with the weather, darkness, and the looking of the long year ahead.  I need to remember to be empathetic with others during this time.  I need to remember that I don’t know everything that is going on in their life, just as I can’t expect them to know everything that is going on in my life.  

So, how do we all continually fight the desire to get discouraged and frustrated with the weather and this time of life?  Again realizing that my students and people I work with are also probably struggling reminds me that I should probably give students a chance to stress relief.  I know I can’t do this all the time, but maybe there could be about 10 to 15 minutes,  where I give my students a chance to listen to music, color, do some puzzles or talk about anything they need to talk about.  I know that I also always try to give cards and little treats to co-workers and friends because I want them to feel like they are helpful and wonderful and so great at their jobs when they can really be hard jobs.  This is definitely something that I should continually do in the future as well.  

I know that I need to find a list of things that give me hope, even when there are times it is hard to see the hope.  The first one is that I have some hobbies that I absolutely love that give me joy and give me a chance to relieve stress.  The second one is that I have people who love me, even when I am not the easiest person to love at times.  I know that I need a lot of validation, so I am grateful for the ones who have stuck around.  Then lastly, I have the God of the world, who saved me and others from the world of sin.  I have a God who died on the cross for our sins and wants me, a lowly human to spend forever with him.  

What is your list?  What are the items that give you complete hope even during the abyss of January or even in the abyss of any time of trials or tribulations? What are some things that you can do in order to try to get out of the abyss of January or the abyss of whatever time you are in?  I believe that for me, I need to take more time listening to music,  specifically God-centered music.  I have noticed that the music that I listen to impacts a lot of my moods.  I can easily turn to music that actually amps me up in my anger or continues to make me sad and that just continues me in my abyss of January.  Another thing I have noticed is that I need to make sure I continually talk to someone about my thoughts but not in a way that I may want, but in a way that I need to.  I need to talk to someone deeper in order to get my thoughts and continually grow, as I could easily do if I went to a therapist or a counselor.  

I know that we have recently started the month of February, which while not the abyss of January, still has a lot of the trails and the chill that the month of January has.  We need to make sure we are taking the items that we know we need to do in order to have better mental health.   Being aware that the weather and time of life may impact your emotions, can help us move forward throughout the rest of our winter and whatever abyss that we are facing.