My mother is 77 and she is in such a state of depression most of the time that I fear she will just give up. She grew up in the most innocent of times (although evil was busy working behind the scenes even then). But the bible clearly indicates that ‘we’ are not of this world and now, I truly feel that way. Like a foreigner in my own land.
You always were, but now you get to suffer for it. Nothing like a frying pan up side the head to get a headache going and that’s what all this is...a big freakin’ frying pan.
My 70 year old father was also very depressed over the last couple of years. Things like Tea Party rallies helped to lift his spirits, but his doctor told him he needed to cut down on his news, and to learn to let things go. The doctor watched as my father's blood pressure literally rose as he watched TV news while preparing for a stress test.
Something that I've found helpful is to reassure him of 2 things:
1 - He has raised his kids with conservative values, and we are prepared to defend those values.
He's done his part. It's time to let his children and their children carry on the fight. And we do. When we visit, we talk about how we're continuing his fight. I share emails I've sent to the school board, and letters I've written to the local paper and advertisers supporting morally bereft programs. We send him pictures of our family at the March for Life and the meeting notes from the pro-life club my daughter started at her (public) high school. We email pictures of the kids at the shooting range or receiving a badge at a Scout ceremony. (We live in different states)
2 - Remind him that our time on this earth is only a test.
What kind of a trial of faith would it be if everything was skittles and rainbows? We don't need to eliminate evil from this world, God only asks that we stand up to it. We do so by defending our values in the schools, defending our religious beliefs in the public square, and being ready to bear abuse for doing so. I will never throw in the towel, and he knows that. We are raising our kids to fight for their values, too, and that fact also brings him comfort.
I hope your mother finds peace. All of God's children eventually do, though not in this life.
Try to order food in a Burger King, or McDonalds, or Jack in the Box in certain areas in Houston, and you'll KNOW you're a foreigner.
I drive miles out of the way to one run by black people as I'm very tired of order takers who DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH ! They think they do, which makes it worse.