Blue Monday/Blue Tuesday

Yesterday and today are deemed "Blue Monday" and "Blue Tuesday" and are said to be the 2 most depressing days of the year.

What's interesting (hmm... maybe) is that they actually calculate this by temperature, weather (rainy), time of year (holidays are over), debt (everyone coming off of the Christmas 'high' and coming down to the all the bills and debt they incurred for it), and number of dementors per capita (ok, I made that last one up).

So what do you think about this?

What I do know is that, as humans, our mood can at times be affected by outside forces such as gloomy weather, uncomfortable temperatures, the fact that it's a Monday, bills, etc.  But we also must remember that for many people Christmas (and other 'family' holidays) can be very depressing because of who is missing from them (as it was for me for years after my mother passed).

What I also know is that annoying saying of "you can't dictate what happens to you but you can dictate your reaction/outlook" is largely true.  This life is hard.
But we are so blessed and so gifted, even in our worst of days.  Through tragedy, death, and loss, often times the Only thing that can give us peace is The peace that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7).

We not only have joy that is independent of our surroundings and circumstances, but we are called to maintain that joy.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says
"¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

This verse doesn't say be joyful when it's easy, or be happy when things are going well, it assumes that that, of course, will not always be the case at all, and instead reminds us to "rejoice Always" and "give thanks in All circumstances" - and how?  Because Christ is the unchanging, the ever present, the peace that can be there when everything else falls apart, the only thing that can always pick us up after we've turned into a puddle, the only thing that makes sense out of chaos, the peace that can be there when it shouldn't be, when no one else can see it, when WE can't see it... the peace that makes no sense... the peace that passes all understanding.