A mentally ill Christian - is it possible? A Happy New Year thought. Christian Life

   
Christian Living in Today's World
Christian Life with Mental Illness

  I was talking to my husband yesterday about Christianity and mental illness. I bless my husband who recognized my suffering and insisted I get help.  But how can an untreated person be a Christian when they cannot control themselves? Since he has witnessed my meltdowns when I get off my medications. Ken felt he did not have the answer.

      What happens, after about three days without medication I am appalled to hear the things that come from my mouth. I can hear them but I cannot stop them. Indeed it is if a demon has entered. 
I say cruel and critical things, everything is very negative. I also cry a lot because I say the most negative and hurtful things to myself.
I am a total failure at life, a bad mother, too stupid to even bake a loaf of bread. Nothing good has ever happened to me in my whole life. I should just ram this car into a bridge abutment. Why would my husband love someone as fat and ugly and stupid as me? 

      You see, I have bad brain chemistry. This is not something I can do anything about. My body doesn't produce what I need. I suppose this means I will need to take pills everyday for the rest of my life. Just like the heart pills I also don't like to take.  Otherwise, I won't be able to function in society or at home.  Most importantly, how can I show Jesus to anyone when I am too ill to control myself.

 According to studies either one in four or one in five of us suffer some form of mental illness. Give me a shout out if you know any of those so called normal people OK? My brother used to say that our whole family is crazy, he is just the only one who has a diagnosis. 

 Mental Illness in Biblical Times

 Mental illness is now spoken of more freely than even a decade ago but it is not some new phenomenon. There are numerous examples in the Bible but one of the first that comes to mind is Job.  He is so mentally ill he just wishes to die. His depression over his losses has even driven his friends away. Not that they were great friends but we all need someone. He had God.
David also suffered mightily more than just a few times in his life. The Psalms are full of his crying out in despair.  He begs God over and over not to leave him because he has no one else. 

 Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers of all time, in my opinion at least, said,
"The mind can descend far lower than the body for in it there are bottomless pits. The flesh can bear only a certain number of wounds and no more, but the soul can bleed in ten thousand ways and die over and over again each hour. 

 My New Years Resolution will be about trying to stay on meds. 
So Happy New Year from my wounded bleeding mind to yours. 


Comments

  1. Carla McClureJanuary 12, 2020 at 7:12 PM

    I was just talking tonight with a friend & we were saying how it’s impossible to know what kind of suffering or afflictions others may be experiencing because so often the pain and dysfunction are hidden from view. And I think we’re told not to judge others because we never know how hard it might be for them to do what we consider “right” or “”normal.”

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