How to Be OK When You’re in a Funk

How to Be OK When You’re in a Funk - The Glorious Table

My favorite jeans are starting to cut into my waist in an uncomfortable way. The grocery order keeps getting delayed when we’re already out of milk. The dog has gotten into the trash again. My kids carry individual sadnesses I can’t fix for them. It’s rainy and cold. My hip aches at night sometimes. People I thought were dependable turn out not to be. I’ve turned out to be not as dependable as I thought I was. My dad is sick. I suddenly need reading glasses for the fine print.

It’s impossible to predict which of these disappointments will have the power to push me into a full-on funk. I have days that feel so full of hope and possibility that I have the juice to face the big stuff with faith and trust. Other days start out already negative, so even good things feel bad. Funks and feelings don’t submit to the scientific method. They often multiply uncertainties and disappointments until the weight of dark clouds feels too heavy for my one set of shoulders to bear.

I have a feeling that the past twelve months have found even those of us with the sunniest dispositions in a funk or two that surprised us. Others of us dip into Funkland on a regular basis. What do you tell a friend who is struggling and can’t shake the dark clouds? What do you tell yourself when life just hurts? You can only go back to what you know. For me, that’s always been enough.

Truths that are rising to the top today:

I know fruit grows out of suffering and makes me a better version of myself. There is something on the other side of this trial I don’t want to miss and a new version of me I can’t afford to not become. James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (ESV).
I’ve survived 100 percent of my hard days so far. My track record is pretty good and helps me believe I can trust myself to be able to figure out tomorrow’s challenges when they come.

Join me at The Glorious Table today to read the rest of the "How to be OK in Funkland" list!

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