Fawn & Lamb

As someone with mental illness, a phrase I often hear is "You are not alone." I get so annoyed by this at times, mainly because those who tell me I am not alone do not have mental illness, and thus I feel lost and alone because they do not fully grasp my experience. Mental illness has a solitary 'I.' It makes you feel i-solated, i-gnored, and i-rregular. I feel inhuman and unwanted due to my mood swings, depression, and episodes of outbursts. I feel hard-pressed, shaken down, and thrown out. I am drowning.  And when you are drowning, you often need someone to pull you up. When Jesus walked on the water, He was completely unaided and uninhibited; He was unafraid of the huge storm with its crashing waves and tremendous winds. The disciples were fear-stricken, believing they were going to die that night. Jesus approached them, and called out "It is I! Do not be afraid!" They were even more afraid because they thought He was a ghost! ...

I sat across from a friend today. With tears coming down her cheeks, she admitted something that I know all too well.  "I have to fight to be happy." This friend suffers from a chronic physical illness that plagues her with pain, weakness, and depression. I have a chronic mental illness that afflicts me with suicidal thoughts, exhaustion, and agony. We both fight to be happy every day. Happiness requires energy. 

θαρσέω Greek transliteration:  tharseō Simplified transliteration:  tharseo Definition:  to be of good courage, be of good cheer, Matthew 9:2 to be confident, hopeful; to be bold, maintain a bold bearing, Matthew 9:22; 14:27; Mark 6:50; 10:49; John 16:33; Acts 23:11* Frequency in New Testament:  7 times (English) Courage :   1. Middle English (denoting the heart, as the seat of feelings): from Old French corage , from Latin cor ‘heart.’ 2. mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. 3. the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery. In Matthew 9, an account of a woman being healed is given. This story is only 3 verses. Jesus is on His way to the house of a ruler to raise his daughter from the dead, and a crowd is following Him along with His disciples. ...