Steps of Healing: Hobbies

What’s the purpose of fun? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

I really hate having to go to work. I hate it because so many times I am just bored there as my mind is not challenged. I thrive on challenge and love to face a real challenge. Sometimes at home, my Dad will come to see me or call me because he’s struggling with a word game.

This is a game where you are given six letters and told to make as many words as you possibly can from those letters. He can be wrestling with something for half an hour trying to find the word. I will come and look at it for about five seconds, tell him what the word is, and go back to what I was doing.

When I am at work, too many times I am not challenged. My mind wanders then and it wanders to places that it shouldn’t go. I am more tempted to brood. Not only that, but when you’re surrounded by a lot of people, it’s an odd paradox, but it can be easy to feel lonely. I suppose it would be the same as if you were on a diet and sitting at a massive banquet table filled with your favorite foods. You would long to eat, but you know that you can’t, and that fills you with hunger and misery. I am around people and it reminds me that I am missing a relationship in my life I desperately want again.

This is why it’s so important to have hobbies in this time. For me, mine is gaming. Sure, I enjoy online debating, but you can’t always force an online debate and as much fun as it is, sometimes, it gets tiresome answering the same old questions over and over again.

Gaming gives you a challenge and it also can give you instant rewards. I can see the progress that I am making. When I am playing Final Fantasy XIV, I can see what the next level I need to reach is. When I am in the dungeon with the party, I am playing a part then to help out my team. The beauty of quests is that they give me a clear destination with clear rewards.

Tonight, I finished playing Aria of Sorrow, a Castlevania game, and I do believe I did everything. I found this one fascinating as there were so many secrets to discover and the leveling system was very fun. I started tonight then continuing that collection as it’s all the Gameboy Advance Castlevania games by playing Harmony of Dissonance. I’ve also got Skyward Sword in the wings and the newest Blaster Master and a friend got me FF XV Royal Edition. I am thankful God has blessed me like this.

During this time, I am also often listening to YouTube videos. Many times, those can be apologetics related as I learn something about my faith at the same time. I meant to watch some about the expansion of the universe today, but sadly I just forgot about it with everything going on in my life.

Sometimes though, I just sit down and just watch fun videos. These are little clips from favorite shows that make me laugh or just bring joy and a smile to me. You might not care for them, but that’s okay. I don’t do them for you. I do them for me. Each time I get a little smile and that little smile is good.

One thing my therapist told me that’s interesting is when we look at other people’s hobbies that we don’t understand, we’re tempted to say they’re idols. I don’t understand why some people get so caught up in professional sports. At least my hobby has you actively engaged in something and using your mind, but hey, some people seem to really care for it.

Of course, sometimes these things can become an idol, whether it’s my hobby or yours, but before we tell someone that they have an idol, we need to consider. With what I am going through, is it not understandable if I need a little bit more time to distract myself? A good friend around here has told me he might not have made it through is divorce if it wasn’t for friends on World of Warcraft. He could find someone on there at most any time who was a friend that he could do something with.

For those healing then, I encourage them to find a hobby, provided of course that you are not doing anything immoral. For instance, per my last post, if your hobby is watching pornography, get a new hobby. If your hobby is sleeping with people you are not married to, get a new hobby. (And also repent.)

If you see me somewhere and I am staring into my phone and smiling, sure I may be playing a game on there or something, but let it be. When a divorce is going on like this, smiles are hard to come by. I give thanks that God has provided me with many blessings and I urge you if you are in this camp to find something that gives you that blessing.

Have fun on the journey, fellow travelers.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

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