Today I had the opportunity to guest write for a friend of mine and fellow Christian devotional writer, Wendy vanEyck at ilovedevotionals.com. I hope you’ll take a second to check this out, as it’s a message dear to my heart. Thanks!
–Rebecca
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How to Live When Depression Lingers
Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on His God. Isaiah 50:10 (NIV)
Shaking my head I punched the “End Call” button on the cell phone while thinking, “That didn’t go too well. Lord, I wish she would at least try to see things from my perspective.”
She didn’t understand what my “problem” was, she made it clear she couldn’t relate to me in any way, and also made it clear that due to my struggles, she could no longer support me, my writing, or the ministry I believed God had called me to.
She thought it would be better if I figured out my “issues” first before jumping into serving or helping others.
How often had I wondered the same thing?
– See more at: http://www.ilovedevotionals.com/2013/06/how-to-live-when-depression-lingers.html#sthash.2Q5xAvjx.dpuf
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Reblogged this on Rebecca Aarup and commented:
One of the most read posts on ilovedevotionals.com since it was first published…it was one of my favorites as well. Check it out!
I could so relate to what you were saying, especially the hurtful words expressed by those so called friends. I had lost 20 pounds from my depression and because of that, friends did an intervention on me calling me anorexic. The worst thing that anyone could do. But despite that, I too am thankful for that dark period of my life. It was because of that, I am writing a book, not on depression but on teens in crisis because my depression stemmed from that period of my life. The ones who rejected me are no longer in my life, but God in His loving grace towards me provided me with new friends, real friends, friends who could understand. Thank you for sharing. I thank the Lord that He allowed this journey to happen in your life so that you could reach out and minister to others in which your past friends could not. No difficult situation is wasted when we have the Lord. He uses our weakness for His Glory! God bless!
Wow! Yes, as a Christian it’s especially difficult to deal with the stigma of clinical depression. I’m glad you have new friends who understand and support you in your journey. Those types of friends are God-gifts for sure. I’ve recently been “given” a couple of those types of friends and it’s so refreshing to finally be able to be honest and transparent with someone without “fear” of rejection. I’m thankful for these experiences, negative and positive, because it’s taught me how to show mercy and grace in a way I would probably not have been able to do before. God is good to use our perceived weaknesses for His divine purpose!
You hit it on the head when you mentioned stigma and rejection which is affluent within the church, especially with broken people. Somewhere along the line many miss or ignore the conception that before Christ they were a broken person too and after Christ have been renewed. We need to have open arms to receive and help heal those who are still broken. Unfortunately many come to a place of changed compassion and instead have the pointing finger or attitude of shunning. Just as I dealt with and continue to deal with, hurting teens in crisis who are dealing with depression and suicidal tendencies as well other issues continually being rejected not only by their own peers but also by their elders. That is the calling that I feel God is leading me in…making awareness of this issue so that the Body of Christ can bring healing, not sorrow and more hurt.