Tag: mental health

Kitty Under the Christmas Tree

It’s been an interesting several weeks! I’ve started a new medicine and am waiting to see how I will respond to it. I’ve had some other health issues that have been annoying, but they are being taken care of, so I am thankful. And I can’t believe that the month of December is actually here. Christmas will arrive before we know it!

I want to really be mindful this holiday season. It’s so easy to get caught up in the presents and the decorating and even the family gatherings (none of which are bad things). But I want to focus in on Jesus and His birth this Christmas. I want to take the time to be still. To listen for once in a while, instead of talking. To use my ears instead of my mouth.

I hope to find some kind of advent idea for blog posts that will help me to be able to do this. But even with this desire for writing blog posts about advent, I could get caught up in the craziness. So I just want to be able to share–when I can–from my heart, about what God is teaching me. Hopefully as I share this it can be encouraging to someone else, as well!

To end this post I’d like to send greetings from my kitty, Misty, who loves to lounge under the Christmas tree. We haven’t even gotten the tree decorated yet, but she’s already found her spot underneath on the tree skirt, where she can blend in with several early Christmas presents that we have received.

I hope that each of you has a Blessed holiday season, and that the remembrance of Christ and what He has done for us will leave a lasting and an invigorating impression on our minds and hearts. ❤

A Hurdle Overcome

I had a great visit with my psychiatrist today.

We talked about some things that had been weighing on my mind and heart.

She was responsive, and said that she would support me.

I was so relieved! But more than that, grateful!

It is one more hurdle that has been overcome.

Thank You, Lord! ❤

Photo credit: Unknown

Stone of Remembrance

This morning, after speaking to my Mother and then reading a devotional from Our Daily Bread, I was challenged to remember. Remember what God has brought me through; the battles He has already helped me overcome; the times that I so strongly wanted to give up, and yet God enabled me to keep going.

It’s so easy to forget those times.

It’s so easy to continue through life from one day to the next, focusing on our present difficulties and not taking the time to remember the victories that God has already accomplished in our lives.

But it’s in remembering that we gain the strength to push past our present difficulties and move forward.

After I completed a 12 week mental health program in September of this year, my small group held a little ceremony, and I was given the opportunity to choose a stone from a box. A stone that would help me to remember the time that I had spent in the program, and all that I had learned. It was meant to be a physical representation of this time in my life: of the struggles I faced, the hard work and effort I put into my recovery, the relationships that I built with my doctor, therapists, and group members–of the fact that I had reached the end of this specific journey and was now moving on to the next.

God has always been there for me. He has never let me down. Yes, there were–and still are–many times when I feel like I won’t be able to get through whatever it is I’m struggling with. Times when I prayed and prayed, yet felt like I received no clear answer from God. Times when I even doubted God, or got angry with Him, because it seemed like He wasn’t there, wasn’t helping me.

But the truth was–and IS–that God is there. He is with me. He is guiding me, strengthening me, encouraging me. Giving me the insight and wisdom that I need to make life decisions. Giving me the grace and mercy that I need when I mess up (and there are so many times that I mess up)! Giving me the understanding, acceptance, and compassion that I deeply long for, when I feel alone and misunderstood.

He is there for YOU today.

Take a moment to review your past experiences and to remember the difficulties that God has brought you through. There are most likely many circumstances that He has helped you to overcome! That same God–the God who helped you in times past–is with you today. And He will help you face the challenges of tomorrow. ❤