Focus on the Family Magazine - June/July 2020

FAITH & INSPIRATION / MINISTRY IMPACT
her eyes in time to see the looming
guardrail—just in time to jerk hard
on the wheel and swerve back onto
the road. What am I doing? Why am
I doing this?
Emily didn’t trust herself to drive
home. Still shaking, she took the
very next exit to the closest safe
person—Auntie Brenda, her friend
from church.
“I walked in, unannounced and
crying, and she hugged me so tight,”
Emily said. “Half an hour passed
before I even told her what happened.”
Back home that night, Emily
remained confused by what she’d
done. She tried her best to sleep,
but the darkness was still swallowing
her. She ended up on <strong>Focus</strong> on
the Family’s website—searching for
answers, searching for something.
“They had resources for people
dealing with depression and thoughts
of suicide,” she said. “There was
one article in particular [that spoke]
straight to my heart.
“I read through it over and over that
night and wrote down the [Bible]
verses the article referenced on notecards.
A few hours later, I was able to
fall asleep with peace.”
At Brenda’s urging, Emily talked
to her family doctor and Pastor
Mike, who put her in touch with a
psychiatric nurse. Emily learned
about the role that brain chemistry,
family history, stress and
medications can play in cases of
depression. And she carried those
notecards—the Scripture verses she
found on the <strong>Focus</strong> website—with
her everywhere.
She kept the cards in her pocket for
months, pulling them out whenever
she felt as though she were drowning.
They are now tattered and soft from
countless folding and unfolding, and
those same cards still sit on Emily’s
nightstand.
“Although I still battle depression,
I’m doing what that <strong>Focus</strong> article
said would happen as I’ve built habits
of perseverance: I’m combating
depression without even realizing it!
“That article spoke to me more
than you will ever know. It may have
even saved my life.” •
<strong>Focus</strong> on the Family Canada relies on donations
to provide hope to hurting people. Help us by
visiting <strong>Focus</strong>OnTheFamily.ca/Donate.
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FOCUS ON THE FAMILY
June / July 2020