Life is good?

My aunt has always been a huge proponent of personality types, and thus I have become a huge fan. It fascinates me how one little test can explain so much about a person. I can't tell you how many "ah ha!" moments I have had at her house while discussing this topic. "So that is why she does that!" More recently this cure-all test has been applied to my husband and I. Admittedly, I am into this a good bit more than my husband; however, as the days go by living with his melancholy-choleric I can see he is slowly buying into the idea. I keep life exciting for my sanguine-phlegmatic! Yes it's true, we are complete opposites. Though as a good choleric, I would argue he has a hint of choleric in him as well. Back to my point....

Being a "scholar of the types" I would call my new home town phlegmatic-phlegmatic. Life is very laid back, slow, and fun. Oh to be a phlegmatic! I envy their "easygoing-ness". Contrary to my title, life for a melancholy is not always good. Wikipedia defines melancholy as "the mental type, live by-the-book." An example of this is my car accident in high school. At a stop sign, I stopped at the white line. Going past the line would be breaking the rules, so heaven forbid I pull up past the bush on my left to see if a car is coming.  Sure enough, just behind the bush was a Yukon. Suddenly, that rule about stopping at the white line didn't seem so important.

A list of melancholy character traits includes "sensitive, unsociable, moody, perfectionist, melancholy." The last part of that definition is the part that's  real bummer....literally! We melancholies tend to feel things very deeply. So, life can be a bit of a roller coaster. Needless to say, these past few months have been full of change and uncertainty. Sometimes life does not feel so good.

I've heard more often than once lately "Just trust God! He is in control." But do my feelings of depression really mean I am not trusting God? I struggled with this thought for a while. I am trying the best I know how to trust God; in my head I know He has a perfect plan and I honestly am excited about it; I am faithful to spend time with Him. So why do I still have feelings of discouragement? Why am I not always "high on life" like my wonderful sanguine-phlegmatic? Because that is not how God made me. Through my studies, I have been reminded of the many accounts that God simply asks for pure honesty. The Kaph section of Psalm 119 (verses 81-88) is the Psalmist begging for comfort; Job poured out his heart and his negative emotions to God; Ecclesiastes is full of Solomon's despair.

God will bring us through rough times. He does not ask us to feel good about it; He simply asks us to rely on Him for strength. When we don't understand or when we think life is spinning in a downward cycle, we can find peace in His Word. Our true trust is found in where we turn when the darkness seems overwhelming. Jesus Himself asked for relief before His crucifixion. "But not My will, but Thine be done."

Let me backtrack a moment to look on the positive side (a big step for this personality type, I know!). I said earlier that God has given each person their personalities for a reason. You are probably convinced that mine is just awful. There are positives and negatives to each type! Because of our deep ability to feel things, we are able to relate to people on a deep level. You can usually tell what we are thinking, if not by what we say, by the look on our faces, so we can't help but be open. We are very loyal and will do what it takes to get a job done. So for all my fellow melancholies out there, look on the bright side! God is using us in unique ways. Look to your true source of peace, and when those dark days come buckle down and focus on the Truth.

Psalm 119:103- "How sweet are Your Words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"