LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  91 

(August 16, 2007)

My most recent article about finding meaning in my life with bipolar disorder was published today. I hope you’ll take a look. There has been one comment, one I’ve responded to. The person vehemently disagrees with my efforts to take a positive spin on things. And perhaps you might agree with her. I think there’s lots of room for discussion here.

But I have found meaning in life, meaning that I’m not sure I would have found without my disorder.

I was talking to a friend this afternoon who feels similarly about the renal failure she suffered a few years ago. She received a kidney transplant. It didn’t take. Then she had another one. Today this tiny lady lives with four kidneys inside her (doctors did not remove the non-functioning ones). Physically she is not strong, but she is happy and has never felt as much at peace.

The thing is, in the midst of these transplants she found God. Her life has changed in an amazing way. This might not have happened if she had not suffered such a crisis.

Something similar happened to me. I began searching for God at a time I felt I could no longer cope on my own with the unbearable feelings my disorder brought on. I needed someone I could lean on to help me through those rough times. This is how I found God. And my life has also changed in an amazing way.