Melancholy

I realize that this blog is Feasting on JOY there should not be a blog post titled "Melancholy" but hey - just keepin' it real.  Actually my current state is not so bad I just have waves of feeling melancholy.  Can I tell you why?  Oh good.  I am so glad you would like to know why.

First let me tell you the definition of Melancholy:

mel·an·chol·y   /ˈmɛlənˌkɒli/ Show Spelled [mel-uhn-kol-ee] Show IPA noun, plural -chol·ies, adjective

noun
1. a gloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression.
2. sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness.
3. Archaic .
a. the condition of having too much black bile, considered in ancient and medieval medicine to cause gloominess and depression.
b. black bile.
adjective
4. affected with, characterized by, or showing melancholy; mournful; depressed: a melancholy mood.
5. causing melancholy or sadness; saddening: a melancholy occasion.
6. soberly thoughtful; pensive.

I fit mostly 3 a. 

Just KIDDING! Yuck!  I fit mostly in number 2 and 6 maybe a little of 5 too.  Not depressed or anything.  No definitely not.  There is SO much to be thankful for and the season of celebrating Christ's birth is very joyful.

The reason I am melancholy is that 11 of my family members have uprooted from the state they are native too and moved to another state.  That includes my nuclear family. We are almost all together now.  This is a really good thing. 

So you say, "Why is that making you melancholy?"  Well the reason is that the last people to move are my parents. I cannot wait to see them but you see in order to come here that had to sell their home. The home in which I grew up in. Well actually the rebuilt home that I grew up in.  The home that my parents both really love. They lived in it for 25 years and I lived in it for 22.  There were a lot of memories in this home to let go of. Another hard part to let go of is that this is the house that my Dad actually built - with his own two hands.  It is amazing! It is gorgeous. It is his dream home (well almost - if it was on some acreage.)  He wished he could have just picked up his house and moved it here to a big plot of land. Unfortunately he can't.

I have a hard time thinking of someone else, some other family living in our house.  My parents are at peace with it though.  They feel so strongly about getting out of the state that it is worth the sacrifice to them.  I am so thankful that they are willing to do that to be near us.

I will miss my childhood home terribly. I am counting down the days until it wont be a part of our lives anymore. I do have to put it into perspective though - a Godly perspective that is.  It is just a material possession (not even mine for that matter.)  My understanding of possessions changed after the fire.  It will all turn to ashes - or dust in the end.  It has no eternal value.  I know.

When this feeling comes up I always have certain verses that keep popping into my head, which I am convinced the Holy Spirit is giving me. They are in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.  Can I write them for you?  They really help in seasons of change.  We have to remember that there is a time and a season for everything.  God's plan is perfect. He knows what he is doing.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
(The bold are times I have personally experienced in my life.)

Goodbyes are hard.  I have despised them all my life.  Whether it is saying a goodbye to a person, place or thing it has always been terrible in my book.  However, with the hope of the Lord and my trust in his sovereignty I can lean on these verses above.  They comfort me. We are in a time of uprooting and building here and even though I am melancholy I am excited for the season to come and for that matter, in my own personal (nuclear family) the season that is here.  God IS good ~ ALL the time!

Are you going through a tough change or a season that is a bit uncomfortable?  Take notice, in each verse above there is a positive and a negative or an opposite.  If your in a hard spot be comforted that the positive side or opposite is soon to come.  All in God's perfect timing.

~Blessings in your perfect season of life ~