The word compassion has always brought me so much relief. I rode the mental struggle bus for the better part of a decade. Relief was rarely one of the stops. When I did find relief, it was typically from the word compassion.
Compassion is seeing the deep seated need of another and being moved in your heart for them. For those of us with mental health disorders, deep seated need is just about the only thing we can see. My fears, my doubts, and my cloudiness were an overwhelming weight on my shoulders. That weight stayed for a long time.
My life was a mental minefield. One false move and you can fill in the blank…
Almost worse than the panic attacks was the hopelessness. The light at the end of the tunnel was like a night light in a black hole. Every new panic attack, every new melt down, solidified my firm belief that nothing could change.
Probably one of the most damaging byproducts of mental health struggle was the cynicism it fostered. How could you not be cynical? Wake up (If you fall asleep). Anxiety for breakfast. Panic attack for lunch. Rumination for an afternoon snack. Reassurance for dinner. Hopelessness as you struggle to fall asleep. The next day, the cycle continues.
Can you see how cynicism might block out hope?
What does compassion have to do with this? When I was coming out of the darkest valley I had been in, I had a video consultation with a man named Ted Witzig. He is a pastor and an OCD professional. He said something to me that I will never forget as long as I live. He said, “Look at how God treats people with afflictions.”
I was caught off guard. God was the perceived source of my problems in my life. He was the theme of my OCD and depression. Now, I was encouraged for the first time in what felt like forever, to see Him as the Comforter of those things. To see Him, not as the agent of my affliction, but the Healer of it.
How does God treat people with an affliction?
As a father has compassion on his children,
Psalm 103:13-14
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
Compassion. He has compassion. He sees my deep need and it tugs at his heart. His heart breaks over my broken heart.
I didn’t believe that straight away. But, I clung to it. I asked it to be a reality in my mind and in my life. I dare you to do the same. I dare you to not give up. I dare you to try Him and see if He will not change your life. He has for me. And I will never be the same.
Free to be Funk 