For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 I’ve been writing a great deal of my story, so much of it including sad parts of my journey. But there have been […]
Read More...I was still like a child in ways. What was happening bewildered me. I had developed strong bonds with those who had showed me love. Like a child clinging to her parents, I could not let go. Only after thousands of dollars’ worth of psychotherapy did I learn to recognize the truth about what happened. […]
Read More...Friends had betrayed me. My whole community betrayed me. I found myself ostracized. My feelings of self-worth plummeted. Gradually I forgot that I had done anything good at all. One of the worst forms of discrimination is when there is a conflict between a well person and someone with a history of mental illness. This […]
Read More...People with mental illness are too often treated in ways that make them feel inferior—ways that make them feel they’re not as much of a person as others are. If that could only change! Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah when he announced the following in Luke 4:18. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, […]
Read More...I’ve gone far enough with my story. There’s lots more, but much is already covered elsewhere. I now want to tell you what motivated me to write this series. I feel my rights as a human being, and the rights of others with mental illness, are too often considered unimportant. Yet, not taking them seriously […]
Read More...I had been told I’d been too demanding. Relying too much on friends. Constantly needing to email and talk. I’ve told before about how I felt guilty about this behavior and how I tried to change. A few times I asked for boundaries, thinking I needed firm guidelines, but was told I was always welcome […]
Read More...In the days following, I looked for support, calling a few friends to ask for prayer. But no one returned my call. Are they thinking there’s something wrong with me because I was excluded from the group? With support disappearing, I felt like my faith was under attack. I was alone. Abandoned. I said earlier […]
Read More...I used to get terribly angry when I was wronged or when I witnessed an injustice like stigma. I still do. With passion I fought, one of my favourite scriptures close at hand. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6) But does being hungry for justice […]
Read More...I recently plowed my way through what must have been a few hundred emails I had sent to my friends during that unfortunate year. As I read, I was filled with shame. “Oh, Lord! How I must have sickened them! Such an imposition! Why couldn’t I have left them alone? What was I thinking to […]
Read More...Time passed. I started going to a new church where I was well accepted, as I had been in my previous church. I grew spiritually and was delighted to make friends with a couple of people who showed me more love than I think I’d ever had. I would call it godly love. They became […]
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