This morning I give thanks for the blessing of knowing people (some very close to my heart) who face mental/emotional illness. My life is enriched by their strength...and by their beauty ... Through their amazing courage, even in the throes of illness, I have become keenly, passionately appreciative of the fine line between the sound mind and heart and the abyss of mental and emotional erosion. I will never again take for granted the gift of "whole" days, and I will not hesitate to pay attention to life's ability to shake and rattle every human mind and heart. I count these friends and relations amongst the wise saints in my life.
In particular, I give thanks for my Dad... who taught me so much about the darkness and isolation of mental illness.
My Dad faced the double whammy of Bi-polar disorder and Parkinson's disease. (oh...and cancer as well). He spent a good bit of his deteriorating days in a small town community... The folks rallied around him when he suffered with cancer treatments... and as Parkinson's progressed folks were quick to assist him with his movements, especially the practical tasks of the fisherman (baiting the hook, taking the fish off the hook... cleaning the fish).
But when the roller coaster ride of Bi-polar surfaced, our entire family faced the all too predictable stares and stepping back of the general population. There was the wasteland experience of folks, quite frankly, repulsed by my Dad's mania. It was frightening, to be sure... and he often acted in ways that were totally inappropriate.
The previously well respected guy became, so quickly, the outcast. Our entire family felt the shift in engagement with others... from the tender concern generated by the suffering of Dad's cancer and Parkinson's to the hands-off wonder of whether or not the outburst of "insanity" would be the "new" norm for our family.
When you have a family member wrestling with cancer it is plastered on the prayer concern board with details of treatment and progress... but when we are faced with the pain and fear of mental illness we often do so in isolation...often self-imposed quarantine.
I encourage you to pray for all who are affected by any and all manifestations of mental or emotional illness. If you are blessed with a mind and emotions that flow with predictability and moderation, give thanks... If you wrestle with the extremes of clarity and confusion that sometimes blindside your life, fear not... this is no cause for shame. There are more people in your boat than you realize.... and, thank God, there are welcoming arms of many, many people who have ridden the waves of mental illness and continue to live joyful, productive lives.
May the peace of Christ enfold us all!
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