About Me

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My name is Maribel. I have two wonderful children and a strong faith. I am also a survivor of depression. I want to share my stories and feelings with everyone in the hopes of removing some of the stigma associated with this disease. You are not weak, you are not crazy. It is not a feeling that you can just wish would go away; it is a struggle from day to day. Some days are good, some days are great, other times everything around you seems bleak. The good news is that there is hope, and depression can be controlled. Thank you for visiting my page. I hope you will enjoy reading my thoughts. At times you will find my posts to be educational and uplifting. Other times I am sure they will be raw and personal. My hope is that you will travel this road with me as we continue to explore what is in store for us in this journey called life.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Delayed, But Not Detained


So you’re driving along, on your way to that dream vacation you’ve planned for months now, when one of the tires on your vehicle blows out. You skid, you pull over, fix the flat, turn around and go home. Right? Wrong! No way are you going to turn around now! Your trip may have been delayed by half an hour, but you have put way too much time, effort and money planning for this trip. Better late than never!

You know, life is much like that dream vacation we yearn for. We have goals (or at least SHOULD have goals) that we strive to achieve. Some may be short-term, others may take longer to accomplish. Regardless, they are important to us. If we are truly committed, we will do whatever it takes to reach that goal. If you’ve ever reached a goal you set for yourself, you know just how good that sense of accomplishment feels!

Sometimes we are cruising along on the road called life, having a good ole time, when we encounter a little bump. Other times we run face first into a boulder! We become frustrated. We stub our toe on the little bump and it hurts too much. We look up at the big boulder and become convinced that there is no way to climb over it. But what if, instead of doing that, we would take a step backwards and looked at things from a different perspective?  What if we realized that we could try to find a way around the obstacle?

I encourage you to take advantage of times like these and use them as an opportunity to re-focus. Remember that you’ve been down this road before, and have somehow survived. Not only have you survived, but came out stronger on the other side. I know because I have been there, more times than I would have preferred!

“It’s too difficult!” “This is taking too long!” “I’m too tired.” These are some of the negative things that I have said to myself when the going got tough. However, I am a dreamer by nature. I love life and am always planning my next adventure. The years are going to pass me by anyhow, and darn it if I’m going to sit back and not challenge them! “Yes I will rise, out of these ashes rise. From this trouble I have found, and this rubble on the ground, I will rise. ‘Cause He Who is in me is greater than I will ever be…” (“Rise” by Shawn McDonald).