Hope, Help, Healing, Part Two

Today we continue in this powerful, yet vulnerable entry from ministry wife, Christian Fauth. Last week she shared about her lifelong struggle with depression and the process to finding help. To read last week's entry, click here.

Let's pick up where she left off...

I guess I’m writing this for two reasons. The first is for someone to know there is help. No matter what the problem or the pain, there are professionals that are waiting to give treatment to those who feel they are at their end. There are people, whether it is a church or other organization that will support those who need to know someone cares. I can’t stress enough how important it is to take that step and acknowledge a need for help.

The second reason I wanted to write this is because I want people to know there is hope. My story does not end with seeing a counselor every other week and taking medication daily. Early in 2014, a few months after my stay, I met with a friend and as we watched our children play at McDonalds I told her my story. She, in turn, told me how she too had struggled with depression, but God had healed her. Now, I knew God heals. God heals cancer. God makes the deaf hear. I had witnessed healings of others in my life. But did God heal mental illness?

Does God heal mental illness?

Over the next few months, I wrestled with this. I prayed. During the summer, I started getting sick when I took my medicine. I thought maybe the strength was just too high. But I talked to Carl and told him, “I think God is healing me.” In October, I had another doctor appointment. I shared with my doctor and she said she didn’t see a need for me to take the medication any longer! It has been a year and I still haven’t taken anti-depressants. This is the longest I have ever gone unmedicated since 2003.

Our family is happy. Our marriage is healthy. I am whole.

Christ has set me free. I am healed.

I hesitated to write this. I don’t want people to think I am seeking fame or attention. After all, it took me two years to write this down for myself. However, I want to make God famous. I want to give Him the praise He is due. Revelation 12:11 says “and they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.”

Word of their testimony.

Part of this healing is sharing what God has done. I’ve kept it to myself for too long, unsure why God chose to heal me while others fight everyday. I still don’t know why, but I can’t just keep it to myself if there is someone who needs to hear of a hope and light in the darkness of this world. God can take you at your lowest point and He will carry you through. Today, I share that no matter where you are, no matter what you are going through, there is help, hope and healing.

Let me leave you with a few practical directives if you find yourself in a similar situation. What should you do if you find yourself feeling hopeless?

Pray. This may not be easy. You might not even have words, but the Holy Spirit intercedes through our wordless groans (Romans 8:26-27).
Read the Word. Immerse your self in God's Word. Write verses on flash cards and put them on your mirror, bed stand, dash board--anywhere you will see them. Remind yourself of His promises.
Journal. Writing our thoughts can help us to process.
Tell someone. As hard as it is to be vulnerable, do it. Tell someone you trust that exactly how you feel.
Take a walk. Sunlight is so good for our hormones and our soul. Studies show that exercise boosts endorphins and can balance our hormones.
Do something kind for someone else. Focusing our attention outward can change our perspective.
Seek medical attention. Though this is last, it should not be a last resort. Talk to a medical professional and/or counselor about your feelings.

Hope, Help, Healing, Part Two, is ENTRY THREE in our Holding Onto Hope series. Need to catch up? Start with ENTRY ONE.

Christian Fauth and her husband, Carl, have been married and in the ministry together for just under ten years. They currently serve as worship pastors at Life 360 in Springfield, Missouri and have three "handsome, hilarious, and wonderful" boys. "I have shaped my ministry philosophy around growing up with mental illness in a pastor’s home and seeing the need for more vulnerability and honesty about what God can do, not in spite of but, through our struggles." When Christian finds free time, she likes to read design magazines and spend lots of time with family and friends. Her greatest passion? "My greatest passion is to see people connect with God and to know who they are in Christ."