Sundays with Friends. (Other people’s thoughts) #1

Sundays with friends is a recurring segment of blog posts by
friends of mine. They can be on any topic and will always be around 500
words. I may or may not agree with what  is written. Each post is
entirely the work of my friend. Some will be religious, others will not. Maybe these posts will create conversations and maybe they won't. That's the beauty of experiments. 🙂 This post is by my friend Amy Radford.

Amy writes:

There is an elephant in the room that the church is avoiding even
though it has parked itself dead center in the middle of the center
aisle.  It is something many live out on a day to day basis.  He is not
cute and cuddly but big and gray and imposing.  It is mental un-health. 
It is a stigma with much misunderstanding and generalizations.  Yet, in
every church I have been in, I have met people on medication for
various struggles with depression, OCD, anxiety or chemical imbalances.

I
grew up in a "pray about it and get over it" culture.  The sufficiency
of scripture was held to an almost unbalanced level.  Do not get me
wrong!  I firmly believe in the power of prayer and the sufficiency of
scripture but I also believe God gives us resources such as solid
biblical Christian counselors and medical professionals. 

I also
believe our current environment really impacts our emotional health. 
Our fast paced society has increased stress and an overwhelming amount
of information bombarding us every day.  Also, since the Industrial
Revolution, the American diet and the amount of chemicals we are exposed
to are making and impact not only on our physical health but our mental
health as well.  A bible verse alone cannot "heal" it all.

I
think it's time for an open dialogue.  This is not going away.  For
people who are struggling, the church should be the first place they can
find refuge. Instead they often find judgement or absolute silence. 

God
created us to be a community.  It is the institution He created to
represent himself on earth.  We are His hands and His feet so how are we
using them in the lives of those who need it most?

You may ask, "Who are you to talk about this subject?"

I
am not a medical professional or a certified counselor.  I do not have
all the answers.  But, I have my story and my experiences.  I know how
lonely it is to feel like you carry around a dirty little secret that
you can't talk about.  I am a ministry kid, a pastor's wife, and almost
twenty years ago I was diagnosed with Cyclothymia.  It is a battle I have lived for a long time.

You can find Amy on her blog here. She lives in NY with her family.

If you would like to submit a post please contact me through the contact me page.