About ten years ago, a brilliant young lady attended our church. She had a charismatic personality, and people liked her.
For some reason, she had an obsession with suicide. She talked and wrote about it even though she came from a loving family and didn’t display signs of depression. Our youth pastor often talked to her about the topic and made her promise never to do it.
My husband and I went to a theater one night that young people attended. That night they had a open mike, and this young gal read a poem on suicide. It alarmed us, and my husband went to talk to her father. His dad already knew her tendency and shrugged it off.
However, one morning her parents found a suicide note. Shortly afterward, police found her body. Dead.
The mother and father were devastated. I remember the funeral. My husband felt guilty that he hadn’t been more adamant in his conversation with the father.
For weeks afterward various church members talked about the suicide. People that hardly knew her wished they had said something or done something to prevent her actions. In essence, the whole church grieved and experienced guilt. That surprised me. But it was such a tragedy and we all regretted it.
God gives life, and he restores life. Sin brings death. And it’s Satan’s lie that death is better than life.
Heb
2:14 says
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.
Christina Rose is my guest today, and she shares from her family’s experiences.
Have you ever been shunned? I’ve always been a little shy and studious. When I was in ninth grade, I took a Spanish class and found it challenging. A friend who was also learning Spanish and I wrote to each other in Spanish in order to learn faster. I was also taking a Home Ec class that year, and when we finished our sewing project, we could work on other things. Since I was free, I tackled my Spanish epistles home ec class.
I happened to sit near a group of girls who were very playful and silly. When they found out what I was doing, they found it quite funny. And they began to crack jokes and tease. I brushed them off at first. But as other girls watched, the number of participants grew and things got vicious. Pretty soon half the room was ridiculing me.
One day after class, I burst into tears and the teacher asked me why. I spilled out my story, and she was horrified.
But I will never forget the feeling of being laughed at. Being weird, odd
If you have a medical problem, people are compassionate, but if you have a mental illness, it’s a different story.
Ephesians 4:32 says we should be kind to each other, tenderhearted. I love that word. It means you ache for someone who hurts. You have compassion.
I have a friend who is bipolar, but she won’t tell anyone because she hears awful stories told of bipolar people. She doesn’t want the label. But these folk are ill, and they need us to be tenderhearted.
Today I have Leeann Jefferies who was a model for Eileen Ford, and author, Eva Marie Everson. Together they wrote Leeann’s story: The Bipolar Experience.
2:15 What is bipolar
3:40 Eva Marie, this is been part of your life too. Please share your story.
3:55 Describe cycling
6:00 Leeann, tell me how you feel
6:50 What does a high feel like?
10:15 What’s the answer for the manic phases?
[tweetthis]A bipolar person needs love and understanding[/tweetthis]
[tweetthis]Be part of the team for your bipolar friend[/tweetthis]
