Stress warning: Content includes suicidal thoughts. What would you say if a friend with no religious affiliation asked you the simple question: How can I find God? This is the scenario posed to the young and the old, the famous and the not-famous and those of a variety of religious preferences who contribute their voicesContinue reading “How can I find God?”
Tag Archives: mental health
Finding the faces of God in the dark
Lately, a memory keeps surfacing. I am struggling with my mental health and, almost before it begins, I am having a particularly hard day. Sitting in my chair, trying to get started, I call my counselor for help. I tell him, “All I have on my schedule today is an appointment with my psychiatrist. That’sContinue reading “Finding the faces of God in the dark”
The mess of 2018 in five posts
Happy New Year, Messy Jesus Business readers! As the calendar pages turn, it is a good time to pause and consider how God’s graces have been at work in the past year. It is a time to give God thanks and praise, to honor the sacredness of God’s holy time. (If you’re in the LaContinue reading “The mess of 2018 in five posts”
When Jesus came to the ER
It may have been one of the loneliest moments in my life. I was alone in a small, bare triage room with only an examining table. An armed guard was posted outside the door. My clothes had been taken from me and I was wearing a flimsy gown that opened in the back. I wasContinue reading “When Jesus came to the ER”
Anxious resistance
I had a knot in my stomach all day. I couldn’t focus at work. I lost my appetite. I felt exhausted as soon as I woke up. My mind was running with a thousand scenarios of things going wrong. I became keenly aware of that familiar feeling: a low-grade but persistent anxiousness; a lump thatContinue reading “Anxious resistance”
Fear, darkness, and Advent
Lately a certain Gospel instruction is has been grinding challenge into my life, really giving my heart a doozy of a talking to. Jesus says it a lot, in many different ways: Do not be afraid. (Luke 1:30; Mark 5:36; Mark 6:50) Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? (Matthew 6:27)Continue reading “Fear, darkness, and Advent”
Being merciful to yourself in the Year of Mercy
Mercy is the point where God’s love meets the needs of the world. When Pope Francis opened this Year of Mercy he stated, In this Jubilee Year, let us allow God to surprise us. He never tires of casting open the doors of his heart and of repeating that he loves us and wants toContinue reading “Being merciful to yourself in the Year of Mercy”
Spiritual rights for the mentally (sk)illed
So, this week some depression symptoms have come back. Fatigue, heaviness, a dull pull at the sides of my mouth, a silent scream in my throat, anxiousness, and a few intrusive thoughts of self-harm. But, I’m a veteran. I know what to do. Give it to Jesus. Increase self-care. Decrease stress. Pull out my toolboxContinue reading “Spiritual rights for the mentally (sk)illed”