UN/Broken - Day 4

Several years ago, I was talking to a member of  my faith community who had been stuck in a  pattern of thinking for quite some time. Years  ago, she had hurt another person and was  struggling to forgive herself for what she had  done.
 
After years of beating yourself up, it’s hard to  start thinking differently. You likely need a  mental health professional to help you identify  your negative thinking patterns and replace  those with positive ones. However, this person  desperately wanted to keep meeting with me  until I said the “magic words” that would finally  click and fix everything. I tried to convince  them that’s not how it works, that there is work  they must do, work they need a guide to help  them with. But they wouldn’t listen and finally  stopped meeting with me altogether.
I get that feeling. When I was diagnosed, I  wanted the doctor to give me a pill that would  take my anxiety away, or seek a counselor who  could give me the right formula that would
reverse my negative thinking or the pastor who  could anoint me and say the right words that  would once again make me whole.

I learned, in my journey, and I believe with all my  heart, that most of our mental health concerns  must be addressed from every possible angle:  mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We call this wholistic care; in the Adventist faith  tradition, we have leaned into this whole heartedly (pun intended). We started hospitals,  in part, because we know that to have good  spiritual health, you need good physical health. We started schools, in part because we know  how important it is to help you develop  throughout all of life’s stages.
 
When Jesus came across the lame man at the  pool of Bethesda, who had been coming to that  pool for 38 years hoping for a magic pill kind of  healing, Jesus asked him a critical question. He  said, “Would you like to get well?”

At first read, it’s easy to say, “Well duh!  Absolutely! Why else do you think I’ve been  coming here for 38 years? However, what I  believe Jesus was getting at was that to seek  real, meaningful, transformative healing, there is  no quick fix. It takes work, commitment, and  often, it takes you fighting to do the thing that is  the exact opposite of the thing you want to do  (for example, when you’re anxiety is high, exercising can bring incredible natural benefits  but it’s the absolute last thing you want to do).  
 
But if you’re ready to heal and willing to do the  work, it may be one of the toughest and most  rewarding things you’ll ever do. It may well take  seeking a physician for your physical health, a  pastor for your spiritual health, a counselor for  your mental and emotional health, and a  support team to cheer you on when you want to  give up. But if you’re willing to do the work,  healing can come, keep up the good fight. You  are worth it!

JOURNAL:

1. When working on a car, a problem at work,  or a challenge at home, was there ever a  scenario where it was just a straightforward problem that fixed the  issue? 
2. Why do you think we desperately want the  one magic fix instead of a list of things to  do.
3. How could we find accountability to help  us stay the course toward good mental  health?

Bringing together the teaching team from Crosswalk Church (Paddy McCoy (PDX), David Ferguson (CHA), and Timothy Gillespie) to talk about the sermons and how the Holy Spirit is working to bring a message of unity between them as they teach and lead within the Crosswalk Global Network of Churches.