Where you can share your struggles, learn about mental health issues and study the Bible
“Leave the broken, irreversible past in God’s hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.” Oswald Chambers
We can heal from our past with time, therapy, close friends and God’s help. Then, we can walk with God into our future. While we can’t see the future like in the path, we know God is at our side.
Happy belated Thanksgiving Thursday. I made two mistakes at work yesterday and was too tired mentally to write this post.
This week, the temperatures in Wisconsin have been extremely cold. So, I found myself thinking about how nice it is to have heat in my apartment and car. As you can see, my cat is thankful for heat too.
I don’t ever want to be homeless, not have heat in my apartment or a broken heater in my car. A co-worker told me about her car that she calls a death trap that doesn’t have a working heater. So, she drives with her arm sticking out the window wiping the window since she can’t defrost her wind shield.
It is a good idea to keep a gratitude journal which is what I am using Thanksgiving Thursdays to do.
Do you write in a gratitude journal? How frequently? What are you thankful for?
“Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” G.K. Chesterton
Karle Wilson Baker (1878-1960) was an American poet. This quote is from one of her poems.
Jesus prayed before His crucifixion and before selecting His disciples. God wants us to pray to Him when we fear or feel anxious. He promises to walk by our sides.
While I have many questions why He allows evil things to happen in our world such as the Holocaust, 9/11 or our Waukesha parade tragedy, I know that God loves me and is with me.
I woke up with a itchy throat and cough yesterday morning (1/18/2022). I called in sick to work because my employer wants us to stay out if we have any coronavirus like symptoms. So, my employer emailed me the Covid-19 questions and told me to quarantine for five days. They lumped people who had symptoms together with those who tested positive. I can test out on day five with an antigen test, if I can FIND one.
I am listening to corona parody songs to remind myself that I am not the only person stuck at home due to a cold or allergies. They are on YouTube and coming into my room through the internet.
Today, I have no cough left but my nose is a snot factory. So my nose says thank you for nose tissues.
Emotions come and go. Hence, no matter how bad I feel, I know that it will pass. I was caring for a client by sitting with him. He was part of a group home and required 24/7 supervision. He had a very strong anxiety due to past mistreatment. I just reassured him regularly and stayed very calm. Like my emotions, it passed for him too.
My brain lies to me by exaggerating the importance of events or mistakes that I have made. The negative thinking part of my brain has repeatedly told me that I always break the items that I am assembling at work. My brain takes a single incident and then it claims that it happens everyday. My CBT monkey (the part of my brain that is trained to use cognitive behavioral training) catches these thinking errors and works to correct them.
Everyone perceives the world differently based on their past experiences. As a child, I discovered that I interpreted the world different than those around me. My thinking is so negative that I have trouble getting some people to understand me. It makes people want to run away. Others argue with me until I start defending a belief that only the depressed part of my brain believes. Sometimes this makes me feel like no one understands me. Yet, it helps me to understand that a person can love the US but disagree on how to run the country. I believe that both Republicans and Democrats care deeply about the US. We just disagree on what is best for the country.
While everybody’s experience is different, there are similarities in our emotional experiences. I remember attending a support group. Another member was describing a symptom of his/her mental health issue. I started fidgeting in my chair because I recognized my experience in it. Over the years, I have learned that others have experienced symptoms similar to mine.
It was strange for me to think about depression in this way. I would love to never have depression ever again. What have you learned from your depression, anxiety or tough times?
“God’s purpose for each of us is to love others and point them back to Him and His love (pg. 7, Live on Purpose by Sadie Robertson Huff)
I grew up believing that God had a special call on my life. As time went on, I begged God to reveal His will. I thought that He wanted me to be a missionary doctor in some far away country. I played a game once with an atlas. I closed my eyes and randomly selected a page while asking God to guide my hands. I pointed at a map and opened my eyes to see that I had found a US map rather than some far away mission field. This annoyed me because I didn’t think living in the US with an ordinary job could be a calling.
As I continued to learn the Bible, I discovered that any job can be a calling. The Bible teaches us how to live not what career we should have. Honesty. Loving kindness towards others. Encourage each other. Praying for each other. Living in a Church community. Allowing others to help you when you need it. Reaching out for help when you need it. These are the ways that we live out our calling.
What are you doing to be honest? Are you working to show loving kindness? Encouraging others? Praying for others?
Are you able to allow others to help you? Jesus allowed women to provide Him and His disciples with food and housing. Allowing others to help you is very hard. It feels like you are a burden to that person. Yet, it is part of our calling. Shame and guilt may swirl around in your brain. But, God designed His Church with a command to help each other. No church is perfect but if help is available and you need it, ask. If you need counseling or medications, seek out that help. God made us to live in community rather than in isolation.
While this quote is from a book by Theodore Roosevelt, it is more accurately attributed to Squire Bill Widener. Roosevelt referenced this statement as a quote from Widener in his autobiography.
I picked Petunias because I am fascinated by how they can grow anywhere. I grew up in Ohio and grew Petunias for 4H. I never saw a petunia that grew in a random place until I moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin. Now, I have seen them growing in cracks in the sidewalk, at the foot of city trash cans and as shown above under a city planter.
May God help us to bloom wherever we are. Guide us on how to use what we have right now to serve You and our fellow men and women. Amen.
A second thought that came to my mind is that Widener was remembered for what he said. Giving wise counsel when appropriate can be a way to help others.
Who might need wise counsel in your life? Will this person be open to that advice?
Today is Thanksgiving Thursday. I am thankful for my family.
My sister C helped me get the hang of riding the bus when I moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin. She invited me over weekly for yummy food and laundry for a long time. She also helped me in some other ways that I don’t want to name here.
My dad E taught me to drive. He was very patient and calm the whole time. Since I have always been scared of driving, this was a great gift. He helped me with getting my first and second car. He still checks in to see how my car is doing.
My mom S helped me with completing college applications a few decades ago. She bought my textbooks some years. Since I was a biology major, they were very expensive sometimes.
I suspect that you, like me, sometimes feel like a nobody. You see a long list of negative traits with little to no positive traits. Here is a rather ugly rock. Is this what you feel like?
Yet, God says that He made us in His image. You and I are unique.
Inside that ugly rock are crystals. Like this rock, God made you with His image inside you.
I have decided to post my list of things that I thankful for here on Thursdays. I hope this will help me to cultivate an attitude of gratitude.
I am thankful for the generosity of my city, Waukesha. When local businesses have a fundraiser for the parade victims, residents line up to participate. The Christmas ornaments are being sold and all the proceeds are going to the Waukesha community fund.
I am also thankful that my planned layoff has been pushed back to April.
Please share what you are thankful for in the comments.