On our A to Z journey, I am allowing the article written by Jennifer Rainey Marquez titled “More Bliss, Less Stress: A to Z Happiness Boosters to Try” in a recent Good Housekeeping magazine to be our guide. The idea she offers for the letter “c” is to change your commute.

According to this article, if your commute to and from work causes stress, think about changing the mode of transportation, changing your route or listening to an uplifting audio book. These changes have made a difference in attitude for many. Maybe it will help you as well.

I can’t even imagine what the children of Israel experienced during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Seeing the same images and sites over and over again must have been discouraging. This was not a large wilderness area. In fact, Deuteronomy 1:2 (NIV) says, “it takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.”

The Hebrew nation was discouraged. They grumbled. They complained. They insisted. They rose up against Moses. They created an idol to worship. They acted horribly.

But in each instance, God showed forgiveness to this group of people who just couldn’t seem to be satisfied. Now it didn’t mean that He would allow the attitude busters to go unpunished. By the time their wandering ended, an entire generation of Israelites had died in the wilderness.

I believe we can find ourselves in the same spiritual wilderness. Spiritual growth and faith stretching are key elements to warding off spiritual melancholy.

Are you experiencing spiritual wandering? If so, ask yourself these questions.

• When is the last time to you spent more than 5 minutes reading God’s Word?
• When is the last time you spent more than 5 minutes in prayer?
• Are you gathering together with other believers in Christ at least once a week?
• Have you allowed God to stretch your faith recently?

Now these aren’t all the questions you should ask yourself, but they are a good place to start. Do you recall James’ words? “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (James 4:8 – NIV) Maybe you need to move closer to God. It is the first step to ridding your life of spiritual depression.

Of course, there is the possibility that you have been on this spiritual journey for a long time and maybe you just need a change in scenery. Maybe you need to stir up your prayer life. Maybe you need to find another way to study God’s Word. Whatever it is, seek out unique, creative and interesting ways to be with God. Maybe you’ll find this little tweak is just what is needed for your spiritual attitude.

As God led the children of Israel through the wilderness He said this to them at one point. “You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north.” (Deuteronomy 2:3 – NIV) Maybe that’s what God is saying to you today. “You’ve lived your life in this manner long enough. Now try it My way.” “You’ve gone back to that particular sin long enough. It’s time to give it up.” “You’ve been on this spiritual plateau long enough. Come closer.”

Whatever God is saying to you today, listen. And then, to quote James again, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22 – NIV)

I’ll see you on the journey.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna