Christian Education Needed for the Hard Topic of Depression

Before I get to the sad, sob stories of life, 

thought you may could use a little of this:

Not everything,

but it sure helps:)

Today I am sharing thoughts by 

Sheila Walsh in her book, 

"The Heartache Nobody Sees."

A few words to the Christian community from Sheila,

I will never forget an encounter with a woman who was about the 

age of my mother.  She showed me a picture of her daughter.

"She would have been thirty-five this week," she began.

"She worked full-time in a large church but had been struggling

with depression for some time.  She asked the pastor

for a short leave of absence to get some help.

He told her they didn't believe that a Christian should 

seek help from a psychiatrist.  My daughter killed herself.

She loved God, but killed herself."

Too many people do not understand the nature of depression,

equating it with having a "bad day." Those who speak not

always out of lack of compassion, but out of a lack 

of understanding have inflicted much cruelty.

I know how hard it is to see the look of disapproval, disappointment,

and dismissal in the eyes of others.  People have told me that I 

shouldn't be in public ministry until I am "fixed."

People have questioned my very faith in God.  Some comments

are intentionally hurtful; others are spoken out of misunderstanding

about the nature of brain chemistry.

Sheila, popular Women of Faith speaker, has 

a God-given passion for reaching out to women who are privately carrying 

around broken hearts.  

She asks, 

Are you lonely but too ashamed to open up?

Are you a victim of well-meaning friends who have told you to get over it?

Have you tried to heal yourself, to tidy up your pain with a quick fix?

My thoughts...

The biggest hurt of all is being hurt by a body of believers.

I shutter to think "Body of Christ" because 

how do we truly exemplify Christ if we don't

bear with one another, edify and lift each other up?

After a series of cutting, binge eating and purging, 

one of our teenagers was diagnosed with bipolar depression.

She tried to commit suicide three times.  

The last attempt, she almost succeeded.

 When she was coming out a man of faith said, 

"Did you know if you had succeeded, you would have died

and gone to hell???"

Did she need to hear this at this particular moment?
Did her family need this???

Where is grace???

Ann Graham Lotz wrote a book, 

"Wounded by God's People."

Lord, help us to be the hands of 

Jesus reaching out with compassion to those who hurt. 

You will find hope in the pages of her book, 

"The Heartache No One Sees."

Yelp, anyone care to come along?
We all need one. 

Bonnie:)

In the coming weeks, I will share with you things that
have helped me to make it through the rough days.
Hope you'll join me.  Even if you are not struggling with these issues,
maybe what I write will help you help someone who is.