A Case of the Holiday Blues

We just ended the season of Advent and celebrated the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ!  Now we've entered the glorious Octave of Christmas.  There's so much I should be thankful for:  employment, a wonderful family, good health, a nice home, the best dog in the world.  Why do I feel out of sorts?  Why do I feel like I'm not worthy of the blessings I've been given?  The Holiday blues have set in and they are running deep right now...

I always tend to feel a little down during the dreary months of Winter with shorten days and less sunshine.   But, it seems to be a little worse now that my finances are very tight.  I started a new job back in October.  The high fuel and toll fees because of a much longer commute are really biting into my budget.  It didn't help that I experienced a ton of unexpected expenses all at once:  A vet bill, car repairs, new garage door springs, new electric lighting in the master bathroom!  (Owning a home is not cheap...)  I'm required to build back up my savings very, very slowly!  With God's help, I managed to remain unemployed for only 8 weeks!  Still, those 8 weeks wiped out the little savings I had....Sigh.  It's rough starting over financially.  I'm just glad everyday I was able to pay the mortgage those weeks I was without steady income.

Our former pastor along with parishioners from my church left for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land this week.  I'm just sick I couldn't go with them!  As I wrote earlier this year, it was one of those things where the trip sold out very quickly.  Considering my financial constraints I couldn't afford to go on the trip anyway!  However, hopefully I will be able to visit the Holy Land late next year or early 2013.  By then I should have enough saved up to really enjoy it without a looming credit card bill over my head.

-J.