This morning I did an ad for a whole being health and wellness seminar my church is hosting. It caused me to reflect a bit more on my mental health the last little while. Change has been the centre of my family’s year. We moved, I changed jobs and therefore churches as well. Going from small town to city and from a larger to smaller house had our family buzzing.
Our four year old will still mention our old house and old church to declare how much she misses it and the moving process was incredibly emotional. Nothing like packing your entire life up to cause a crying breakdown. The needle that broke our four year old’s back, or heart I guess, was deflating my wife’s medicine ball. Did you know? Those darn things are the slowest to deflate? Well, we isolated the two children in a room with pizza and paw patrol, the two “p’s” of good parenting, and kept working.
Then, a newborn came. I thought I was doing alright with everything. Our newborn is healthy and doing super well. Our two other girls were loving her to bits. We had people helping us out. Everything was going fine. Except. . . Except I didn’t feel like it was going well.
I had taken things one step at a time but it all finally hit me. I couldn’t shake my negative thoughts and mental health was poor. I needed something.
I have a new support group through my district of churches and through that I sensed God was calling me his child who was loved and from that I knew I was even spiritually okay. God extended grace to me in my quiet times with him when there was no room, it seemed, for quiet time.
So what to do? Well, I’m not sure I know fully, but a couple things changed and helped my outlook. Routine and doing the things I love.
I would NEVER have proclaimed the benefits of routine in my early 20’s but man alive, getting back to work, getting a bit active, getting the girls into their programs, all helped brighten my day. Not only that, but it’s mostly things I love. I collaborated with a few people for various ministries in the church and have several speaking engagements lined up right away. And next I’ll be spending time with some great leaders who invest into each other’s lives.
I know I don’t have the keys to battling mental health issues every time, but these two things, routine and doing what I love, really helped. That and starring at my newborn. She’s amazing.
In the end, it makes me wonder about God’s kingdom that’s breaking into our world. I can’t help but think that in some way routine and passions were and are the in-breaking of his kingdom into my life. They helped me get out of my funk and bring happiness. And of course… we all know that holding, smelling and talking to a newborn is definitely God’s kingdom breaking into our world.
For His Kingdom 