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I hope this doesn’t sound like a sermon, because nobody should ever be forced to endure one of those…..Ha! Just kidding. 🙂
In all seriousness however, I have to keep hearing this message myself because culture is so pervasive and so influential. So, don’t own it, don’t adopt it, don’t claim it if it doesn’t belong to you. If God didn’t give it to you, it doesn’t belong to you. I’m talking about things like fear, anxiety, depression, stress, attention deficit disorder, anger, and just about anything else negative that we regard as an affliction.
It may be ON you, but it isn’t OF you.
This is especially true as we bring more awareness of mental health into our culture, because there seems to be this real push to claim our afflictions almost like trophies of shame. Hey man, I earned this anxiety.
Had an amusing conversation with someone about anxiety as in, “you’ll pry MY anxiety out of my cold, dead hands. It is hardwired into the very essence of my chemical composition and my DNA. Respect my anxiety!”
Like dude, you aren’t made out of concrete! You can’t hardwire a fluid creature whose very cells have now been regenerated and are not the same cells you had six month ago. Right?! We are not our six year old selves anymore, we are ever fluid, growing, and regenerating.
It was somewhat funny because said dude obviously also had no respect, or even any awareness of my own afflictions, needs, or mental health issues. Like, good grief, I’m not going to “respect the anxiety,” the anxiety really stinks! I’ve been there and done that. I got out of it by talking to the Lord in prayer. The first step is to pay attention to your words. I realized I claim things, I announce my ownership of them, I adopt them, as in, “MY stress.”
MY anger.
MY unforgiveness.
MY fear.
Life is a journey or a process, so when we are ready, we let go of things. I’m not trying to shame anybody who isn’t ready. I have not been ready myself, many times.
This isn’t about one person, but rather about a far reaching cultural message that tries to heal the things that hurt us, by demanding social acceptance and more awareness, as if the problem isn’t the problem, the problem is just that other people perceive it as a problem.
Don’t invite things in that don’t belong to you. And if God didn’t give it to you, then it isn’t yours to hang onto. He invites us into healing and wholeness. He came to set the captives free, but we have to believe Him and to be willing to reach for it.
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“The first step is to pay attention to your words. I realized I claim things, I announce my ownership of them, I adopt them, as in, “MY stress.”
MY anger.
MY unforgiveness.
MY fear.”
Shew. YES. This is so good.
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Thank you! There are so many stressful things these days… This post was called for!
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Not so long ago, the “politically correct” thing to do was to avoid labeling people by their challenges and to recognize them as persons–handicapped persons, not the handicapped; sight-deprived persons, not the blind; even enslaved persons, not slaves. This was happening in the mental health field as well. A person who is battling depression or anxiety does not have to be reduced to that diagnosis; he or she is still a person. While recovery is not as easy as changing labels, and some challenges do last a lifetime, it’s helpful to be more wholistic about each individual life and not stop with the challenges. J.
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I see this at work. Sometimes out residents are too adamant in owning that they are maybe broken down and physically dependent. And they hate it, but do little to change it. They just expect it. That’s part if what we Aides are supposed to do, is help them return to as much independence as possible. But it starts with them understanding and believing that their weakness is not what defines them.
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Amen, Wally! To be a good helper you really have to find that sweet spot somewhere between helping people out and pushing them to do as much as possible for themselves.
Then there’s the other guys, the strong independent ones that think they don’t need no stinkin help. They tend to have a lot of broken hips…… 🙂
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Well, it takes a helper who will help. Too many would rather do for them instead of taking the time to work through it. That last sentence is so true for sure, as testified to by the times I have to get people off of the floor.
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Everyone needs to read, believe, and act on this. Brilliant. I’m going to share it on FB and reblog it. Thanks so much. God bless you in all things.
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Thank you, much appreciated!
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Reblogged this on Stephanie Parker McKean and commented:
Insanitybytes brilliant as always: If God didn’t give it to you – let go of it!
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Amen, IB, well said. I really love this concluding statement:
“And if God didn’t give it to you, then it isn’t yours to hang onto. He invites us into healing and wholeness.”
That’s exactly it. We don’t deny our current conditions, we accept God’s invitation into the process. This is where making declarations that agree with God rather than our current condition is so helpful. We exercise our faith toward the truth about us rather than our current experience.
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Amen!
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