Buoyed Not Depressed

This morning I received news that a beautiful baby girl had died after suffering through many operations and medical procedures. Yesterday I received news that a young relative has decided that the path marked “eat, drink, and be merry” is more fun than the path marked righteousness. The day before that I heard about a friend going through a terrible divorce and custody battle. It seems like every day there is some horrible news—some death, disaster, or despair. All this news can easily depress us and drag us down into the depths of sorrow and despair—deep into the Pit. But it doesn't have to.

The word depress means to “press down.” And if we look at these types of situations alone they can press us down. But the secret is to to not look down, but to look up. Overcoming the depression these situations cause comes when we see something different. By refusing to “press down” and instead “push up,” we see a Savior taking the little one in His arms and welcoming her home. We see a Savior beckoning with outstretched hands for the young man to return to His embrace. We see a Savior shedding tears of sorrow for the woman who isn’t even aware that His hand is in hers protectively guiding her through her heartache and sorrow. We see.

By looking up instead of down, we see a life preserver, a floating device, that we can latch onto. We are buoyed instead of depressed. We are lifted and encouraged because we see a bigger picture—a picture that includes the Cure, the Healer, the Solution to the sorrow of the world.