By JMathis

Who doesn’t have a bad night out with girlfriends occasionally? I have definitely had my share of weekends brimming with the promise of wild fun, laughter and dancing, only to find that the night ends up in: a) my car being towed, b) my friend puking all over me, and/or c) me sitting in the emergency room with a broken heel and a sprained ankle.

At the same time, did any of those events swear me off of going out again with the girls? No, of course not, because at the end of the night, they are experiences you’ll always share with your close friends, which soon become memories that everyone laughs off over drinks one day. 

And, that, is how it feels to watch Sex and the City 2, The Movie, even a year after its initial release and hours of channel surfing to fight off insomnia.

Yes, it’s a pretty crummy night out spent hanging with The Girls—Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte—watching them slum it in forced dialogue and an overly self-indulgent script. However, at the end of the night, they’re still your ladies, and that’s why you can never abandon them, no matter how tasteless and lackluster the movie. 

Yet despite all of its flaws, the movie managed to show something that rang very real and authentic to many of us in our 30s and 40s, including myself. Each of The Girls had ostensibly “made it” in their careers and love lives, and yet they still continued to face and cope with daily insecurities which led to ongoing feelings of depression and anxiety.

Carrie, now a bestselling New York Times author, felt lost in a new marriage that seemed to engulf her identity. Miranda, even after years of proving herself as a successful lawyer, was still being shut down by more senior, male partners in her law firm. Samantha, who despite being one of the sexiest women alive, was increasingly fearful of her body’s defiant attempts in battling the aging process. And Charlotte, who after years of infertility, finally had the family of her dreams, but the daily rigors of being a mom were forcing her into a quiet despair. 

What had happened to my SATC girls? Despite having all of the outward trappings of success, they were shells of their former selves, and were trudging through their daily lives feeling dejected and overwhelmed. I had always watched SATC as a form of sheer escapism, but to find that the SATC girls were experiencing what my friends and I were currently going through was just too real, even if all the backdrops to the movie were of Christian Dior and Abu Dhabi.

This month, FemmeFuel will be peeling back the layers of depression, especially the type that hits once your life is seemingly settled and complete. Many of us landed our dream husbands, jobs and children, are active socially, are involved in church and in touch spiritually, and take up causes on behalf of those less fortunate in the community. Yet, for so many of us, there continues to be a sadness that creeps in every so often, nudging us into seasons of insecurity and lack of self-worth.

FemmeFuel is calling these feelings and times of depression and discontentment our “April Showers”. Though it is a cliché, it is our aim to keep you focused on “May Flowers”, and God’s eternal promise of springtime and beauty in your life, despite these periods where you feel overwhelmed and engulfed by the pressures of the world.

The Lord sees your heart and hears your cries at night. He knows and sees the sadness and despair you feel, even if you have masked it well in front of your family and friends. Kick off those Manolo Blahniks and Jimmy Choos and curl under the covers with us as we explore these April Showers in the backdrop of God’s best for our lives. It won’t be easy tackling these feelings, but know that you’re not alone and that we’re in this together. After all, it may not be the best of nights, but you’ll still be with your girls, and for that reason alone, it will be a night for the memory books…