LESSONS FROM A LIFE
Yesterday the world was shocked, saddened and totally caught off guard at the death of Robin Williams. Not just his death...his death at his own hands. How could that possibly happen? How could someone so full of laughter and wit and humor and LIFE come to a place where they would take their own life? And, in the middle of our sadness and confusion, is there anything we can take away with us from such an event.
I think so.
1. People are not always as they seem. The cover is not necessarily the best indicator of the book. There are a lot of smiling, laughing, sad people.
2. As a culture, we have made great strides in understanding and accepting diseases. Diseases of the brain are not necessarily one of those. If Mr. Williams had cancer we would have understood. We understood, somewhat, his battles with addictions. We seem to understand and feel OK with diseases of any portion of the body other than the brain. Mental illness is a term we are very uncomfortable with for so many reasons. On a personal level, I remember with great clarity when I faced a battle with anxiety and depression. I was OK until my wife called the doctor for some information and was told to refer to the phone number on the back of my insurance card for Mental Health. I was doing OK until I heard that term. Suddenly, it was as though all the wind went out of me and I thought to myself, "I'm mentally ill? Will they put me in a rubber room? Am I going to be institutionalized? Will I be kept away from my grandkids? What's going to happen to me?" It was the most helpless and desperate moment of my life.
3. The Church has to become comfortable with diseases of the brain. Jesus was. As his representatives on this planet, we must be as well. We've made some progress, but we have a long way to go. Support Groups for virtually every kind of disease known to mankind are springing up in churches everywhere. Good job. But, what about diseases of the brain? I'm a proud pastor to know that Crosspoint Church has a Mental Health Support Group. These are people who God loves and Jesus died for. These are people like us who struggle with a disease. They're not damaged goods. They're not to be avoided or feared. They are people like me, who have a disease of the brain. If it was anywhere else we'd be a lot more comfortable with it. Too bad. Maybe we need to aim a little higher....like COMPASSION rather than COMFORT.
I think so.
1. People are not always as they seem. The cover is not necessarily the best indicator of the book. There are a lot of smiling, laughing, sad people.
2. As a culture, we have made great strides in understanding and accepting diseases. Diseases of the brain are not necessarily one of those. If Mr. Williams had cancer we would have understood. We understood, somewhat, his battles with addictions. We seem to understand and feel OK with diseases of any portion of the body other than the brain. Mental illness is a term we are very uncomfortable with for so many reasons. On a personal level, I remember with great clarity when I faced a battle with anxiety and depression. I was OK until my wife called the doctor for some information and was told to refer to the phone number on the back of my insurance card for Mental Health. I was doing OK until I heard that term. Suddenly, it was as though all the wind went out of me and I thought to myself, "I'm mentally ill? Will they put me in a rubber room? Am I going to be institutionalized? Will I be kept away from my grandkids? What's going to happen to me?" It was the most helpless and desperate moment of my life.
3. The Church has to become comfortable with diseases of the brain. Jesus was. As his representatives on this planet, we must be as well. We've made some progress, but we have a long way to go. Support Groups for virtually every kind of disease known to mankind are springing up in churches everywhere. Good job. But, what about diseases of the brain? I'm a proud pastor to know that Crosspoint Church has a Mental Health Support Group. These are people who God loves and Jesus died for. These are people like us who struggle with a disease. They're not damaged goods. They're not to be avoided or feared. They are people like me, who have a disease of the brain. If it was anywhere else we'd be a lot more comfortable with it. Too bad. Maybe we need to aim a little higher....like COMPASSION rather than COMFORT.
There are no words to describe how much I love this post; thank you so much for calling this out. As a co-leader of Crosspoint's Mental Health Support Group, I can attest to the love and compassion that we feel during every meeting and we want nothing more than to show that same love and compassion to every single person struggling with a mental illness. It is a hard road, because not only are we not understood by the world, we are frequently shamed by it as well. It is practically taboo to admit that you have a 'disease of the brain' and I am also so proud of our church because we've been given the opportunity to be His ambassadors in a safe place. Thank you, Pastor Tom!
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