Tag: mental health
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Off the Bench: come to Jesus and find rest
My heart pounds in my chest like a pep band bass drum, setting a tempo too rapid for this occasion—sharing dinner with family and friends. In this moment, my body occupies a seat on the bench. The bench is a challenging place. I watch the game blur in front of me, wanting to join in,…
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Hagar’s Story is Ours: Sought and Seen
The anxiety twinges, slowly, spreading painful heat and prickling across my shoulder. Our room is dark; my husband soundly sleeping next to me. It seems that the enemy knows in this moment I am all alone, and the sadness, shame, and unworthiness begin to creep up from my insides. This life is so hard. Fighting…
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My View From Counseling
I know I need to go and I also really don’t want to—these thoughts hang simultaneously in the air. Does anyone want to voluntarily sign up to work through hard things with someone they don’t know very well? Definitely not me. I text a friend, please check in with me to make sure I schedule…
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Like Velcro: trusting another with my dark thoughts
From thousands of feet in the air, I found myself looking down at the Indiana countryside, wind rushing past my face through an open airplane door. My palms wet with sweat, heart thumping, and legs trembling, I braced myself for what came next. “Okay, you have to jump!” the skydive instructor, who I was securely…
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What’s on the Menu: When God’s Provision Comes in a Pill
Before I share my story, I know it is important to recognize that there are varying opinions about taking medication to relieve anxiety and depression. I encourage you to talk to a physician, psychiatrist, or counselor to figure out what is best for you. I am sharing my story because I want you to know…
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Where is Jesus in My Darkest Moments?
Do you struggle with day upon day of slate gray, dull, wintery days? You know, the ones where darkness creeps in before 5 PM? Me too. Honestly, I am deeply afraid of this season. The darkness of night often breeds opaqueness within my soul, where depression and anxiety lurk in the shadows, ready to pounce.…
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God’s Winter Provision
Does winter scare you? Me too. Do all the grays of winter threaten to plunge you into the darkness of depression and doubt? Oh friend, me too. If you are in this space right now or know someone who is, I hope and pray that you will read on. I wrote these words last winter…
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Good morning, anxiety…
Good morning, anxiety. I feel you spiking each time I think of one more thing to do. You pound me, driving me further into the ground. You take my breath away, making it hard to breathe. Good morning, God. I blink trying to take in the beauty around me and fight away the stabbing anxiety.…
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Glittering Motherhood?
I scrub dishes over the sink, just like I do every morning. The rushing water drowns out the voices of my son and daughter, creating throughout the stage and art studio of our home. This morning, unbeknownst to me, my daughter decided to outline her newly penned drawing with milky white Elmer’s glue and sprinkle,…
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Silhouettes of Summer
The sun dips below the horizon, releasing water colors of blue, purple, and orange bleeding across the vast expanse of sky. The dark outline of the trees dances and sways in front of the tapestry of changing colors. A bird, as black as the night that will soon come, flutters across the sky. The colors…
Refuge of Grace 