I wrote this years ago when I had an injury to my feet. I told my Aunt Betty I was feeling badly about not being able to help with driving my children and doing other tasks. Her response is in red below.

Betty: The Scripture says, “By their fruits, you shall know them. That’s what Scripture says about discernment. And when you go into this stuff about not being able to drive, it just gets you depressed. So, why do you waste your time going there? You defeat the very purpose of bringing good out of this by going into depression. You’re choosing to be depressed when you go into focusing on, “Oh, I’m going to feel badly, because I can’t drive.” You make that judgment. Why do you keep beating yourself up? You just make yourself miserable. I wouldn’t waste time in that thought.

I would say, “That’s a useless thought. I’m not going to go there.” And I would keep sending it to the cross. If it keeps coming back, keep sending it to the cross. If you know something is a temptation, you send it off to the cross. You don’t keep focusing on it. It doesn’t achieve any good. So, why waste time on it? Can you change it by thinking about it? No. By thinking about it, you get depressed. So then, don’t think about it. And as soon as you catch yourself there, just say, “Sorry Lord. I’m going into fixation. I need help.”

That’s where your discipline has to come in. Does that make sense to you? It’s not easy to live faith. It’s easy to talk faith. It’s not easy to live it. There’s always repentance. God is a forgiving God. So, when you catch yourself torturing yourself again, it’s like, “Oh, I’m sorry Lord.” You can honor God by sending thoughts like that to the cross. Send the thoughts that are going to lead you into further depression to the cross. You want to honor God. Does that make sense? See, in a sense, this is where your real sanctity is proven. That’s true for all of us. It’s when the chips are down, how do we react? It’s okay to say, “Oh Lord, we have a lot of work to do.” He takes that. He understands we’re trying. After what I said, are you turning to the Lord saying, “Lord, see how much I need You?” Or are you turning to the Lord in despair? How are you reacting?

Ask the Lord to send you a miracle to keep you focused in a way that will give Him honor and glory. “Don’t waste the crisis.” Jesus came to the disciples and said, “Why were you sleeping? Watch and pray, lest you give in to temptation.” He knew what we go through. “So, Jesus help AM really stay awake and fight temptation and not slide into those places of self-pity, which are so easy to slide into.” That’s why the last time we worked, I said to you, “Watch where you put your focus.” Because that is key to really yielding and surrendering to Christ. Satan knows that. That’s why he likes to get us focused on nonsense.

Where is your focus right now? If you know something is a temptation, send it off to the cross. Don’t keep focusing on it. Ask the Lord to send you a miracle to keep you focused in a way that will give Him honor and glory.