Rankin124web

We asked Christy’s family to share what they learned
and experienced as she dealt with her depression.
Daughter Rachel
When mom was struggling, it was difficult to see God in it at
times. We would have hopeful seasons, but when the darkness
would come over her again, I felt frustrated and questioned
whether or not God was interested in completely healing her. I just
wanted her to be well and be free, for God’s glory, and for her to
not have to fight anymore.
I saw her faith to be out of this bondage and the faith of those
praying for her, so it was confusing to me what His holdup was. I
could feel my hope for the situation fading at times, like maybe this
would just be our reality and I should get used to it. Looking back, I
see now that He was big enough to handle my doubts and frustrations
and that He was with her (and me) throughout it all.
When God finally opened doors for a plan that would set her
free from this cycle, I saw freedom in her like I never had before. It
strengthened my faith that God is always ahead of us and His timing
is perfect, even if it’s not what we would have chosen. It’s so
important to hang on to what you know is true and not let your
situation determine your faith.
My encouragement to people going through this is to let people
around you know what you’re going through and what is helpful for
you. It’s not too much for them and you’re not a burden. Your
people really want to help and often don’t know how best to
support you beyond prayer. So, communicating that is so helpful.
For those who know a loved one struggling, ask them how you
can help! What makes them feel seen? What makes it worse? Be
there to listen and remind them of scripture, but understand that
your words likely won’t make everything all better.
Daughter McKenzie
Looking back on my mom’s life and her experience with mental
health, the biggest thing that I learned about God is that He is
ALWAYS working. Even when you can’t see Him and He feels a
million miles away, He is at work. It was so hard to see my mom
struggle for so long, but to look at what God brought her through
to where she is now is a beautiful thing. Outside of simply just being
there for someone you love, one of the encouragements that I
think touched my mom most was to just tell her how strong she is.
To go through struggles with emotional health is hard, and people
need to hear how strong and courageous and brave they are even
when they don’t feel it. And healing is possible. Every person’s
journey is different, but God is in the business of doing redeeming
work in our lives.
Son Regan
Back in those days, I’m not sure that I fully understood what
mom was going through. I can remember when I was much
younger, thinking something must have happened to a family
member or something bad happened if I saw her upset. As I got
older, I probably knew more of what depression and anxiety were.
It became something I would see come and go in waves. Not really
sure when the next would come. I just felt sad that she was
continuing to wrestle with this with no easy way of helping it. I just
wanted to hold her hand or do whatever I could to make her feel
a little bit better. I never saw it as something being wrong with her,
but I knew there was another way of life and I wanted her to be
able step into it and out of the darkness.
I have learned that it is not God’s will or plan for someone to
remain in that pain. The truth of Jesus defeating death means we
can be brought out of darkness. We are now heirs to the kingdom
of light. It’s not a question of ‘Is it just God’s will for me to be
downcast/confused/anxious?’ I have seen myself, and those around
me, be brought out of those places when we call out. I know many
people can struggle to find their way out of those places. It may
sound easier than it is.
Romans 12:2 says to be “transformed by the RENEWING of your
MIND.” The enemy’s only weapon against us is lies. If we are
reinforcing lies that he feeds us, it may seem impossible for us to
break free from that bondage. But if we can renew our mind with
truth, even when we don’t feel that it’s true, we will see change.
Renew your mind to align with the truth of the gospel.
Husband Chip
To those in the thick of the fight, I would say lean in to your faith
in Jesus instead of running from faith in Jesus. In the midst of the
hardship, God is working, revealing Himself, refining your faith, and
ultimately shaping you to be more like Jesus. You can’t handle it or
make it through on your own, but the Holy Spirit will strengthen
you and sustain you.
In the darkest and hardest times, reading the Bible and listening
to worship music really helped me. I also learned that I couldn’t fix
Christy’s battle with depression. That was a helpless feeling. But what
I learned was that Christy didn’t need me to fix it or try to fix her.
What she needed was me to be present and to love her unconditionally
and reassure her I was with her. That’s sometimes harder
for us to do than trying to fix it, but in the end our presence and
love are healing.
What I learned about faith and God is that He is faithful and sees
your struggle. There were days when I said to God - ‘I don’t think
I can do this anymore‘ and I needed Him to help me. Then He would
do something that let me know He was with me, He saw me, and
I was going to make it through. I also learned that God’s ways of
doing things are not always what I want or expect. But His ways
and timing are always perfect.
Hometown RANKIN • 41