One of the holiday traditions we celebrate as a family is lighting candles on our Advent wreath while we sing the hymn, “Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus.” We start with only the first stanza, then add another through the four weeks of Advent, so that during the week before Christmas the song is sung in its entirety* with meaningful reverence. I am glad, though, that my favorite lines are in the first stanza. That way they stay fresh on my mind for the full month as we sing the words over and over.
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Threads of Blessing
When mental illness is embedded in the warp and woof of a family’s life it is hard to see how your loved one’s struggles and your weary, relentless caregiving could possibly weave into anything good. But if you look closely you may uncover a few threads of blessings subtly streaming across the fabric of your own heart. Continue reading
Perfect Peace
What do you think about when your mind is in neutral … when you don’t have to concentrate on work, or shopping lists, or sports games? What is on your mind when nothing else is? If you are trying to help a loved one cope with a mental illness, chances are you are often thinking about them and their situation. In fact, left to its own choices, your mind will likely fix itself there. Continue reading
That Day
The journal entry for that day says, “I think in years to come Nelson and I will look back on today and say, ‘It was that day when we got old.’” Now, years later, I think I was right. It was the day when it was all just too much. When another step was just not possible. When the next prayer just could not be voiced. When even breathing took unimaginable effort and all reasoning was spent. It was that day when everything in us screamed E-N-O-U-G-H. Continue reading
Chariots and horses
I saw a poster years ago that said, “The magic is, there is no magic.” And despite our deepest wishes, there is also no silver bullet, no special formula, no perfect plan. For those who care for a loved one dealing with mental illness, we search high and low for the right doctors, the right medications, the right program hoping to find the healing. Few find it. Continue reading
Besieged
Oddly enough, in the world of ornithology (study of birds), the word “siege” is descriptor of “the station of a heron at prey.” While I can honestly say I have never looked through the eyes of a fish about to be devoured by a heron, I can assuredly attest to the paralyzing fear experienced by those who watch their loved ones being enclosed by mental illness. Indeed there have been many times when Douglas has been as one besieged by a predator. Continue reading
Seeking and Seeing
Have you ever noticed as you read the chapters of the Gospels, that often Jesus wasn’t where He was expected to be? Continue reading
Brick by Brick
I caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye and then quickly turned my whole body in back of the cramped car to gawk at the full view. We were outside of Kathmandu, Nepal and though she looked to be about 80, I supposed she was much younger. She was bent nearly in half, walking at a guarded pace with a stack of bricks half her height strapped haphazardly to her back.
No GPS
Changes in medication or dosage. Confrontations at work. Disrupted sleep. Guests from out of town. There is a plethora of life circumstances that can throw off those who struggle to overcome mental illnesses.
Continue reading
Hallowing the Name
“Hallowed” isn’t a word I use much in casual conversation, but I say it every day as I pray the only prayer Jesus taught His disciples. To “hallow” means to hold in high regard, to render sacred, to revere. And so Jesus instructed us to pray that, as children of the heavenly Father, we would live in such a way that we bring honor to our Father—that we would “do His name proud” as my southern granny would say. Continue reading
Sparks of Redemptive Grace 