Compassionate Love: Displaying compassion for those who struggle with mental illness    (c)2014 Nancy Virden

We each have a 2014 story to tell.

Me? My year started with such anxiety I was nearly agoraphobic for a month. If memory serves me right there were three highly reactionary melt-downs with regard to a relationship. I left my church, struggled again with anxiety to the point of near paralysis in a search for work,  my marriage ended, a son estranged himself from the family for six months now, the mental and physical health of loved ones has gone downhill, and I just want it all to stop.

That’s a lot of pain for one year. However, there’s always  a flip side – the rest of the story, if you will.

My career is taking off -even if not financially yet- with multiple radio spots, speaking engagements, and a new book released this month. There’s been healing in one relationship. 

Following a major purge of material goods, my new church family filled my home with furniture, dishes, and the like. God is teaching me to trust for a “ram in the thicket” (see Genesis 22:13) and to creatively use what I have on hand instead of buying more.  The result is profound.  Everywhere I look in my home, everywhere, there is physical evidence of God’s love for me, proof people care, and that I matter.  

A deliberate, daily focus on God is shaking off all that does not produce life in me. Confidence, faith, changes in thinking patterns, and hope are filling once-empty spaces.

That’s a lot of joy for one year.

2015 will have pain in it. I’m expecting joy too. That is a 180 degree turn from how life has seemed in times past. This year, it is my goal to recognize the flip side before I flip out,  to surrender my will to the One who has my best interests at heart, and to rest in his peace. God’s love never fails.

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NOTE: I am not a doctor or mental health professional. I speak only from personal experiences with and observations of mental illness. In no way is this website intended to substitute for professional mental health care.