REVIVING LIVING ROOM

Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

Have you ever invented something that has never existed before? Perhaps even drawing it up on paper or making a prototype? But maybe you thought it would be impossible to make it a reality, though you did feel your idea could do a lot of good. Trouble is, you didn’t have the courage to follow through. How you kicked yourself when sometime down the road another person had the same idea and made it a reality!

What did the successful person have that you didn’t? Possibly, this person had more faith in themselves or faith in someone they knew who was greater than themselves—someone who for many of us would be God Almighty.

That’s what happened to me when I “invented” Living Room. It was something I knew that was needed. And I felt called by God to help make it happen. I believe he was already in the work. My job was only to be his hands and feet and voice. I very much believed it was possible. I believed what my Bible said: that “with God all things are possible.” And yet, it took a lot of courage too.

In early 2006, I realized the necessity of having faith-based peer support groups where people with mental health challenges could safely discuss their mental health as well as their faith.

As plans for Living Room came together, I journaled:

My disorder had made a regular job impossible for me. I had never dreamed of doing anything like forming such a group. I had never heard of faith-based support groups addressing mental health problems. This was a brand-new thing I was undertaking. Where do I start?

I became a pioneer, travelling unknown territory with God my only guide.

There were times I doubted myself. “Who am I anyway doing something this big?”

. . . It was a huge task for a person who herself was living with mental illness. Anxiety was no stranger as I prepared. How I needed God!

And I did draw close to God, trusting that the work was his, not mine alone. I would only need to be his hands and feet and voice. This knowledge is what made the seemingly impossible become possible—even for one such as me.

I kept the group going for nine years, until 2015, when I retired.

I believe that God can work this way through all of us who want to bring Living Room forward to its next stage, starting today in 2024. Because he knows how important it is for us to bring his love to those who need it—especially the many who are feeling rejected by the world. All kinds of people—people of all backgrounds and faiths. God and his love is there for us all. Those who believe and those who don’t yet.

marja