HOPE often comes in the form of HELP.
After all, HOPE is HELPFUL, do you agree?
Sometimes help comes without our seeking it. But more often it comes when we do seek it. And the dear people I was speaking to last week at the Havelock Centre, indicated their desire for help just by coming out to hear me. Some of them knew me. They knew that the topics closest to my heart were my faith, my experience with depression, and my desire to help those who suffer. They knew how adamant I was and still am about getting help for mental illness. They knew how I depended on my Lord for help, every day. And every Christian in that room knew where my help comes from.
“My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 21:2)
They were primed and ready for a word from the Lord. Others wondered what I might have to say about my new book (still not out yet) ‘My Bible Tells Me So’. I felt bad that the book was not available yet. But, even so, they were primed and ready for a good message.
When you are speaking, you get the see faces and emotions. You don’t know exactly what is going on in the minds of those dear faces but you can see that the Lord is speaking to them. You can see that some of the things I say strike an emotion in them. I am never sure that my talks will speak to the hearts of those listening. I just pray, prepare a talk, and let the good Lord take care of the results.
And what a privilege to give those lovely folks a message of hope. I am going to share with you, part of what I shared with them – my practical message for dealing with mental illness. Here it is:
There is always HOPE if you’re willing to reach out for HELP!
I have a little acrostic for you using the word ‘help’.
H_E_L_P
H stands for help. The first and most important step in taking care of your depression is to get some help. Start with your doctor, maybe get some medication and even some therapy. So H is for help.
E is for education. Learn as much as you can about your condition. Give yourself a break and understand that you have an illness and you are not just wallowing in self-pity. E is for education.
L is for love. Love yourself. Treasure yourself. You matter. Take care of yourself. Forgive yourself. This is not your fault. And reach out for God’s unfailing love. L is for love.
P is for practical. Make some practical changes in your life that will make your illness easier to manage. Take up some activities that bring you joy. Stop doing things that bring you misery. P is for practical.
There is help out there for mental illness. But no one can help us unless we reach out. The results are up to God. But the first step is ours. I am praying for you.
Don’t give up. There is help for depression, even at Christmas. There is hope. There is always hope.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
