When Your Move Feels Bigger Than You Are

Lord, this feels bigger than me. I need Your help.

 

Even as I type, I can remember the very first time I needed this prayer of desperation for my girl.

 

Minutes prior, I received one of those calls you don’t want from the school; Madi wasn’t feeling well and wanted to come home. She seemed fine when I dropped her off this morning, I thought as I walked into the middle school.

 

Turning the corner into the office, I could see the distraught look on Madi’s face. The sadness emanating from her eyes was becoming all too familiar. After signing her out, we were soon headed toward home. Maybe she was getting a cold, I thought, as I surveyed her once again. That is when my daughter became adamant. “Mom, something is wrong. I can’t breathe. It feels like someone is sitting on my chest.” Instead of heading home, we went straight to her doctor.

I had no idea what was going on, but I knew it wasn’t normal for a thirteen-year-old.

Madi’s doctor informed me that she was having a panic attack. What is a panic attack? I thought. I was too embarrassed to admit my lack of understanding to the physician. For quite some time I had been thinking she was experiencing a heavy dose of growing up angst. Struggling to live right in a world so wrong was hard; a daily battle she was fighting. That had to be the source of her struggles, wasn’t it?

 

What I was not seeing, because I was unaware, were the early symptoms of a mental health disorder.

Please join me today at my friend’s Rachel Britton where I am sharing my family’s first steps in thriving with mental illness and how Madi has found unshakable confidence to daily move forward. We’re giving away a copy of Make Your Move too!

Click here to come on over!

Lynn

4 Comments

  1. My daughter has been facing the issues of anxiety and depression this fall. So, we have been using your verses about Unshakable Confidence to hold onto as we navigate how to help her. I love your comment about your daughter wanting not to just make it but thrive as this is how my daughter feels as well. Some days, it is hard to feel God in this situation but I continue to hope He will guide through this all. I appreciate that you are talking about it and trying to raise awareness as I believe there is a lot of shame around mental illness. Thank You.

    1. Lynn Cowell says:

      You are so right, Jenelle. I think this shame comes from centuries of misunderstanding on what mental illness is. It is not a weakness.

      We don’t shame some one when they have diabetes, cancer or the flu. When do we do so when the brain has an illness?

      It is time to bring change to the body of Christ when it comes to this lack of education and understanding. Jesus wants all of us free … no matter what our struggle may be.

      Thank you for sharing!

  2. Lynn,
    Duplicate comment – I just wanted to make sure you saw it. I posted over on Rachel’s blog.
    Thank you for sharing! I am a huge advocate in the arena of mental health. I write, speak, teach, and lead a ministry for family members that have a loved one with mental illness. I am so proud of Madi and I will head right over to her site and sign up. We have to begin stepping out and sharing to lower stigma. Of course I say that and yet I write under an alias because my loved one does not want me sharing. Hopefully, one day we will share together.

    Another great class is Family Connections for people who have a loved one with Borderline Personality Disorder – NEABPD or emotion dysregulation.

    I have many resources on my blog as well as a closed Facebook group for those that love someone with a mental disorder. It is hard on families too. We need support. Again thank you for sharing. I would love to connect at some point.

    1. Lynn Cowell says:

      Thank you so much for sharing, Maree Dee. Can you share your blog here so others can find it?

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