Monthly Archives: May 2019

The Hope of a Whole Life

Posted on by under disassociation, Hope

For many years, I have been looking for a picture of a tree to hang in my dining room—not just any tree, but a specific image that I have in mind. It has to be a leafless tree, a large tree standing alone in the middle of a hazy winter day, an image that fills most of the space within the frame. Every time I visit a shop that sells prints, I look for my tree, but for the longest time I could not find the exact picture that I have conjured in my mind. But today I did find just the image for which I have been searching. I found my tree in the music video for the song “Worn” by Tenth Avenue North. There it stood, leafless, alone, on a sunless day.

As I watched the video and listened to the words of the song, I began to understand why this lonely tree held some meaning for me. My counselor has diagnosed me with Dissociative Identity Disorder, a condition formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. This diagnosis has been difficult for me to grasp, to understand what it really means. Through counseling, however, I have come to realize that there are different parts within me that are making my walk to wholeness more challenging. As my counseling sessions have progressed, I have come to understand that my child’s mind could not process what had happened to me, so in response my personality “splintered” for my protection. But I have begun to work through this issue and I feel happier and literally more at one with myself. I am happier and freer, but there is still a black spot inside me that is numb and emotionless.

This brings me back to the “Worn” video. As I looked at the tree in the video, I realized that it looks exactly like what my black place feels like. For an instant in the video, the tree is surrounded by a black mist that bubbles and whirls, reminding me even more of the dark entity that is inside me. The black mist is visible for only a moment, before being dispelled by the sun, but I see it clearly in that brief time. I have watched the video over and over, and I see that black mist every time.

The song lyrics have also spoken to me:

            I’m tired, I’m worn

            My heart is heavy

            From the work it takes […]

            Let me know the struggle ends

            I wanna know a song can rise

            From the ashes of a broken life

            And all that’s dead inside can be reborn

Last Sunday our pastor preached on I Thessalonians 1:3: “Constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father” (NASB). I heard God speak to me through the words of the song and the scripture. I have been feeling heavy of heart from the work it is taking for me to become a whole person. It is a struggle. But God’s Word says that our past work and our present labor will result in a Hope because of our steadfastness!

The song lyrics ask for God’s assurance that a song can rise and that what is dead inside can be reborn. That is my plea also, that one day that tall leafless tree standing in the middle of winter will be transformed like the one in the video, soaking up the bright light of the sun and full of glorious green leaves. Isn’t that a wonderful picture to behold? Through our hard work and steadfastness, we have the Hope of a whole life. Do not grow weary. Do not be worn. One day we will be made whole, if not on earth then in heaven, where we will be in the presence of our God and Father.

Blessings – Lisa

Changed

Posted on by under depression, Faithfulness, Hope

There is a song by Rascal Flatts called “Changed” that has been running through my mind. The lyrics and the melody have sort of gotten stuck in my brain. Changed—yes, I am changed because of what God has been doing in my life, but I have started asking myself, “How have I changed?” Why is this song playing over and over in my head, even keeping me awake at night? In the middle of one of those sleepless nights, I finally got up to tackle this question.

When I got up, I felt a real need to write about this issue, but I was not sure where to begin. Eventually I decided to begin by examining the prayers that I have been praying for my children. For weeks, I had been praying specifically for their physical healing, because each of them was dealing with ailments that were causing real distress in her life. But, rather than seeing positive results from my prayers, I was seeing disasters in their lives instead. It was crazy. One of my daughters seemed to come down with a new ailment every week and had even been diagnosed with a mild heart problem. The other daughter suddenly came down with the flu and sent me an SOS for help. Of course, I immediately packed a bag and headed out the door to take care of her, but before I could leave the house I received a text from my daughter-in-law (my third daughter) saying that she was in the midst of a miscarriage. I could not go to be with her, unfortunately, because of distance, but I did begin to pray for her and her family.

But I almost felt as if my prayers were jinxing my loved ones rather than blessing them, and I really struggled with what was happening in their lives. And there’s that word again—“Changed.” How does this word fit into what is happening in my life and my daughters’ lives? I asked God for an answer. But at first there was no answer, only silence. It was the middle of the night, so I thought about something else that had been keeping me awake. Maybe God wanted me to write about lost jewelry.

I do not wear much jewelry because I am allergic to most of the metals that are used in jewelry. But there were two particular pieces that were very special to me, a ring that my grandmother had given me and a necklace that my husband had given me as a wedding present. Some years earlier, I had given these items to my daughters as symbols of our bond and pledges of our love. But sadly my younger daughter later lost my grandmother’s ring during a very stressful and challenging period in our relationship. Even now I want to weep when I think of the heartbreak that she caused me, not because of the lost ring but because of the alienation and betrayal that I felt during that time. My older daughter, on the other hand, cherished the necklace that I handed down to her, until it was stolen. She was devastated, and I want to weep for her, too, because of the sadness that she experienced when the necklace was lost to her.

Changed. Oh, how I have changed. The ring represents a time of depression, bitterness, unforgiveness, and hurt as my younger daughter moved further and further away from me emotionally and spiritually. The necklace, though, represents a tender and loving heart moved by loss and sadness but full of hope, joy, forgiveness, and healing. I am beginning to see the change. I am not the person I once was. Now I am the mom who diligently prays for the healing of my children and believes that God will make a difference in their lives no matter what the circumstances seem to say.

Changed. How thankful I am that I don’t have to stay stuck in the misery and depression of yesterday. Instead, God is at work in my life, changing those things that I cannot change. I Thessalonians 5:23-24 promises, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass” (NASB).

Oh, what a promise, that God Himself will sanctify us, will change us, because He is Faithful. Dear Lord, thank you for the changes that You have brought to pass in my life. The road to recovery is full of changes. Can you see them? Believe, even when your prayers seem to jinx your loved ones, believe that He can heal hurt and broken lives and make us blameless at His coming. We are changed!

Blessings – Lisa