Life’s Events should make us stronger!
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| God will never leave us nor forsake us. |
July 9th, 2015 @ 5:45pm
Today I woke up excited, happy and at peace with myself. Why? I really can’t tell but I know that reading the feedback from the last post was so encouraging and humbling. I am grateful to God because on this platform, I realize that I am getting better every day and in every way. Thank you everyone, for finding time to read and contribute to this blog. May God bless and reward you in His own way.
Majority of persons diagnosed with bipolar or other form of mental illness believe that an inability to deal with life happenings around them triggered the breakdown in their nervous system. Though, medical experts in this field confirm that the diagnoses of bipolar can be genetic and can also be triggered by life events. Ruth White, an Associate Professor of Social Work at Seattle University and author of Bipolar 101 asserts that, the
“Onset of the bipolar illness is often triggered by major life events that cause stress, which can trigger either a manic or depressive episode, depending on the person and how stress impacts him or her.”
But if we exempt ourselves from life’s events, what would be the evidence of our existence? I believe that a warrior is one who is victorious in the battle; he became a warrior because he fought in the war in the first place. And our God is a Mighty Warrior, great in battles. So we really do not need to run away from life and its happenings, they will make us stronger and wiser. Remember what the scripture say about the victory that over-cometh the world (life happenings)?
“For whatsoever is born of God over-cometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5: 4
When I uploaded my last post, I was in the hospital with our thirteen months old son. The doctors diagnosed congestion of the chest and an air borne infection triggered by cold. We were admitted for five days. In the midst of all these, our three year old daughter also began to run a temperature.
How did I feel? Honestly, I felt nothing! Not sad, not worried, not afraid but I was physically tired, tired but not discouraged. This was because at the beginning of all these, God dropped a scripture in my heart; Psalm 27. I read it over and over again and I held on to,
…the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?…Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. – Psalms 27: 1b, 3.
As I watched our son breath through his mouth, I remembered that in the dream I had a night before, he was saved by a stranger. This reassured me that God had already gone ahead of me to save the situation even while I was still ignorant of what will happen.
Like I said earlier, in all of this, my emotions were clueless! I didn’t feel depressed, sad or happy… but I was hopeful and joyful in my spirit. Hopeful because, God did give me an ‘expo’ in that dream which reassured me that my son will be fine regardless. Joyful, because I knew I was not alone. God is with me. And I had Psalms 27 to muse on. Our son has been discharged and our daughter is fine now. I am amazed at God’s mercy when I see our son play around; he even tries to communicate by forming words now! This is usually a hilarious scene. *laughing*
What did I learn from this experience?
- Our attitude to life will determine the response we get out of life’s situations.
- If we recognize that God is our source and sustainer, we will not be afraid of tomorrow.
- We must be sensitive to the details that affect our peace. E.g. intuition, dreams, words, thoughts, feelings, etc…
- That man cannot go through life without the help of the sovereign God.
- When God is your defense, you will be defended regardless of the size or type of affliction.
- That it is alright to not feel ‘anything’ when you are in a ‘trial’ situation, but it is not okay for you to lose Hope. Hab. 3:17-19.
- That trials are not necessarily negative consequences of our wrong acts but necessary exams of life to move us to the next level.
- That trials give us an opportunity to experience the variety of life so that we can empathise and help others when we find them in a similar situation.
- We have to be courageous in God to go through each day.
- When your heart is fixed on the Lord, you will recognize that He is the strength of your life. Not your husband, children, job, friends, loved ones, or well wishers. God should be the strength of your life.
- Seek prompt professional medical advice when you or your loved one/ones is/are ill. Don’t practice self medication.
- Know that in every situation, if you are a believer, God will always be your Shepherd, and because of this, you are not permitted to want any good thing. Psalms 84:11, Psalms 23:1
This is my testimony and my learning in the past one week. What is your testimony? What are you learning from your daily experiences?
My name is Precious, I was bipolar and I live a full Life
Prayer
Lord, hide me in the shadow of your wings. Keep me humble. Give me grace to always remember that you are the strength of my Life, in Jesus name, Amen.
Reference
All scriptures are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
http://www.sharecare.com/health/bipolar-disorder-causes-and-risk-factors/what-life-events-trigger-bipolar