Thursday, March 18, 2010

When It Seems to Much

There are times when the things going on around me seem just too much and I feel like it is just going to send me "down". The other day I could feel this start and then in my daily bible reading I get from The Word for The Day
It was titled 

Stop Worrying About It!

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you - Psalm 55:22 NKJV

When worry comes knocking on your door, stop it on the doorstep or it will move in and take up residence. 'Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you' (1 Peter 5:7 NIV). God cares about the things that worry you and prey upon your thoughts. He cares about them more than you do. None escape His notice. Because 'you are his personal concern', He watches over you day and night. 
A worry = Anything that robs you of joy; anything you can't change; anything you're not responsible for; anything you're unable to control; anything that torments you; anything that keeps you awake when you should be asleep. All of that 'stuff' needs to be transferred from your worry list to your prayer list. The Bible says, 'Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace...' (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT). Give each worry, one by one, to God. The more you practise doing this, the more exciting your walk with Him will become. You'll be amazed at how easily He handles things that overwhelm you. Remind yourself that He's able to handle it, willing to handle it, and waiting for you to give it to Him. 'Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you.' Those who live worry free are those who keep casting their burdens on the Lord until it becomes as natural to them as breathing! 

I know this. I have read this kind of thing, time and time again, but daily I have to remember to "cast" them upon Jesus because He cares for me.
And the blessing comes straight away as I feel the heaviness lift.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Mental Illness and the Ones You Love

Mental Illness (MI) is not something we tend to talk about a lot but when you live with someone with it, you want it to be 'out there' in the open. It is part of who that person is whether you like it or not and although we don't like to focus on it sometimes it rears its ugly face and you can not help but have it control and influence everything going on.
My husband had a Brain Haemorrhage (Aneurysm) in March 1984You can follow a time line of his illness's and the affect on me here. 
He has suffered from the MI of chronic depression with suicidal attempts. Last November he tried another overdose and is at the moment in a very low place again talking of doing it again. It is a real life situation that we as his family and those who love him, have to watch and live through as he receives the help he needs to come through.
Sometimes it is hard to separate the MI from the person who suffers it and you can become very confused and annoyed that they think the bad thoughts that they do, but when you can separate the illness as being "The Illness" you see the person you love and so want them to break through it.
The journey is hard and even more so when for myself as a wife and mother I have to support my husband and then all the family as they cope with it too.
This is when I so need to look after myself so that the illness I had (mentioned in the link above) does not bring me down as well.

It is my faith in God that carries me through for without Him I would fall and probably not even be here myself.
Praise God that He knows and will not give us more than we can handle.