3/13/24………NEW FOCUS
I want to apologize for my absence these past few months. I started doing the blog about my family’s journey with mental health, particularly focused on my daughter. But I took a pause because I do not think it is best to put all of her struggles out there in the manner in which I was doing it. Even though she was ok with it, I just started to think of her future, and how this could impact her. However, I do feel like it is important to talk through these issues and struggles, but in a more constructive way. After much thought, prayer and discussion, I want to change the focus of I’m Still Me to something that combines the faith of our family and really trying to break the stigma of mental health, which is also very much apparent in the church. A recent church sermon spoke about the Pharisees questioning Jesus spending time with tax collectors and sinners. And Jesus’ response was “…Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance”. Luke 5:31-32. This spoke to me, because my daughter has stated on a few occasions that she feels like church should be like a hospital, a place for the sick and hurting, yet she often feels judged and ignored. She has visible scars, she has said some scary things at church, she has made some bad decisions. This is not received or viewed well in the church setting. But I want to change that. Jesus calls us to change that. I absolutely love being a follower of Jesus, but I can see that the human spirit is so quick to judge, and I am not excluded. It takes work and conscious effort as a Christian to not be quick to judge. I want people with mental health struggles to feel safe, accepted, loved and not judged by Christians. How can we expect the hurting and the struggling to seek Christ, if we as Christians are acting as judge and jury? This is the time that Christians need to step up and show unconditional love and provide comfort, safety and biblical truth. This is what Jesus did, and it is what He is calling for us to do. Our world is so broken in so many ways – what are we as Christians going to do to help heal it?
Once I get myself more organized, I plan to write weekly devotions, specifically designed to teach about mental health struggles, along with biblical truth and teachings that we can use to help the broken in our lives. I hope and pray that this can become a great resource and space where all can feel safe, loved and inspired to help make this world a better, loving place.