despair: the complete loss and
absence of hope.
hope: a feeling of expectation
and a desire for a certain
thing to happen.
when talking about mental illness
despair is a common theme.
complete.
complete loss.
absence.
absence of hope.
imagine living in this definition
day after day and night after night.
suffering in silence
often not even understanding
that which is causing the despair.
now imagine feeling the intense need
to hide that despair.
to feel ashamed for that which
is causing despair:
mental illness
those 2 small words have
immense implications
for those of us who
suffer from
from said illness.
for as a general rule
mental illness is not a
casserole illness.
yet in all reality
are we not all suffering from
this very disease?
oh to be sure it is to
vastly varying degrees
but if we are honest, are we all not
broken?
and if we are broken together
would that not help alleviate the shame
which so often accompanies mental illness?
no footnotes.
no exceptions.
no postscripts.
only love.
and oh the hope this offers!
audacious hope!
radical hope!
for profound and unimaginable beauty
can come out of the broken
pieces of despair!
and no one is too ill
to be embraced.
no one is too far gone
to be loved.
and the wounds often invisible
deserve compassion and grace.
and is that not how Jesus treated
those who were outcast and
living on the fringe of society?
He touched those in deepest pain
with love and tenderness and respect
beyond comprehension.
for that is Jesus.
and in Jesus there is always hope
for He is the essence of hope.
and hope is often present
in the form of a treatment team
skilled in the treatment of mental illness
and whose own hearts beat for the hurting heart.
now take those hearts beating for the
hurting heart along with the heart hurting
and wrap them all in the arms of the One who
gave His own beating heart so we could know
what it is to have hope...
hope is like the tiny candle
flickering in the dark.
like the streak of sunlight
piercing through clouds so ominous.
hope is that same streak of sunlight
dancing as it meets the falling raindrops
resulting in God's intimate signature of hope...
the rainbow
"He will cover you with His feathers
He will shelter you under His wings
He faithful promises are your
armor and protection"
Psalm 91:4
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