So what do my house plants teach me? I am not the most green fingered of people when it comes to house plants, but I do seem to have some success with orchids and African violets. The orchids need to be stood on the draining board in the kitchen once a week to have about half a jug of water poured onto their roots and allowed to immediately run away and down the sink. They need feeding about every three weeks. I find they are happy in a moderate temperature. Recently I have been rewarded with some beautiful blooms, still going strong after six weeks. Soon, of course the flowers will drop and the plant will need to rest. The African violet needs a north facing window for preference and needs very, very small amounts of water daily in the dish it stands on. So what do I make of all this in relation to my thoughts on the way young Christians are expected to be. Well you can give them too much food and too much water(lots of meetings) and wonder why they are not thriving. After someone has blossomed why is it we do not realize they need a time of rest. Come to that why do we all expect tremendous progress from ourselves. A time of rest is essential for later progress. Don't beat yourself up when nothing seems to be happening. The Eternal gardener knows what He is doing and will bring you out of the gloom, the necessary gloom to the time when you will bloom gloriously for Him.
There are two main types of depression, reactive, which is a reaction to your circumstances and endogenous, which is a part of your makeup and not entirely affected by your circumstances. I get the second type. When I am depressed I like to sleep a lot, this is probably not a good thing as depression can lift if you do not have extra sleep. It is all very well knowing that , but acting upon it is another thing. Exercise is also beneficial. Some sorts of depression can be lifted by taking these measures, but some people need medication. You need to get to know your doctor and develope a relationship with him/her where you feel you can trust their judgement. Do look for help as there are lots of possibilities out there. It is not good to spend long stretches of time on your own. Talking with other people will often help lift your spirits, especially if they are people who have gone through this experience themselves. Maybe you need to join a self help group. Avoid people who tell...
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