There once was a time when Bing Crosby movies and the aroma of pine mixed with cinnamon would leave me warm and fuzzy inside. I’d wander the aisles of trendy stationary stores with the hopes of picking out the perfect Christmas cards. There were two kinds of cards I needed to purchase: the cards for almost everyone, and the cards for the people I thought I needed to impress. The everyday cards were a little more generic and signed simply with a holiday greeting and my name. For the people I had to impress, the cards were die cut, uniquely sized and mailed in a shimmery envelope. My signature was perfectly executed underneath a witty and memorable sign off. Because we all know that how you sign your Christmas card determines where you end up in this world.
This year, Christmas doesn’t feel so warm and fuzzy. Label me The Grinch, or Mrs. Scrooge, or just plain apathetic, but I have no Christmas tree up. There are no stockings hung on the mantle over my electric fireplace (hey, it’s a rental, okay?) and no snowmen adorning my coffee table.
There’s no nativity scene with an oddly posed baby Jesus, no twinkly lights, and no Santa.
I do however, have Valium. And at times, it seems like the only thing getting me through this high pressure, high anxiety season.
Now, before the shame-on-you emails begin flooding in, accusing me of using a sedative as a seasonal crutch, medication looks different to everyone. To some it’s a little extra comfort in their egg nog. Others, shopping. Eating. Sleeping. Whathaveyou.
Mine just happens to be a little green pill.
Is my holiday coping method healthy? I have to think it’s better for my wallet, my cholesterol, and my hips than say, a trip to the mall or seven pounds of fudgy cookies.
But that’s just me.
For many people, Christmas is merry and bright. For others, sometimes our holiday cheer isn’t turned up to ten. And I’m realizing that’s okay. Different seasons bring different seasons, and there’s much to be learned, whatever side of the fence you fall on this year.
Here’s to making it through another holiday with all the hope, grace (and coping mechanisms if necessary) one can handle. I wish you the best. May we all begin to love our flaws, our imperfections, and our potential as we close out this year, and ring in the next.
Comments
55 responses to “Baby Jesus, Santa, and Valium”
Merry Christmas Anne!
Does God like Christmas? That’s my question. I wrote about it on my blog a week or so ago. http://tinyurl.com/4qw63o
I’m sorry that you and so many are overwhelmed by this season. I think I am too. The thing is, I’m not convinced that enough people (Christians) have asked the question, Is this really a holy day for those who follow Christ.
Peace to you in this season and in all the calendar.
Yours is green? Mine are like an orange-ish color!
Many reasons we need help coping. None wrong. One day we won’t need the crutch or whatever someone wants to call it. That will be heaven, and only those who have been there understand exactly what that means.
Hope you hear this from the bottom of my heart, ever since meeting and talking with you at Catalyst: You’re my hero, Anne Jackson. Your openness, your seemingly fearless way of stepping out into no-man’s-land inspires me. Thank you for being who God died for you to be.
Suraj, Deets – thanks…
Faye – I’m trying.
Anne, I think of those who may not feel so cheery this Christmas. While I’m not down or depressed, I am overwhelmed with many emotions and tasks this Christmas and a valium sounds great. : )
Enjoy whatever brings you peace this season Anne!
I find that through the media hyped cheer of the season, there tends to be a loneliness in lots of people during this season because it so often ends of being the season of “lasts” for so many.
We tend to get more sentimental than any other time of the year which overflows into thinking about good sentiments and our sad sentiments. All which are healthy and human. I just want to be human and if that’s not perfectly dolled up in the nicest Christmas party outfit with snowmen on the coffee-table then so be it. As long as we continue to live our lives (happy, sad, cheery or depressed, we are living) and seasons are good healthy things. They help us remember (good and bad), they help us relate (good and bad), they help us become who God created us to be.
Merry Christmas Anne! I do hope it is filled with some bouts of joy!
Ain’t no shame in bringing yourself into a healthy physical state.
I understand.
Merry Christmas and big hugs to you.
Valium used to be my comfort of choice too. Esp when I worked for that one guy. Only way I could take a shift with him. Otherwise I might have killed him with a spoon.
Anne, I don’t have any decorations up either. It’s not that i don’t want to put them up, but I am heading to NY to see family next week, and will not be home to enjoy them. I did however seriously think about putting the small nativity set up, just as a reminder to myself what the season is all about. I need to do that when I go home today, before I leave on Sunday for NY State and all the (yuck) snow!!!!
Have a Merry Christmas, Anne! Looking forward to your book coming out soon.
i have to wonder the same as Deets. i’ve been wondering for a couple of years now..why do we treat christmas as such a holy day? nowhere does it say that we are to celebrate the birth of christ (not that it shouldn’t be acknowledged and wondered upon). who decided this? i think it’s a nice holiday…but it doesn’t have to represent the birth of christ…someone, way back in time, decided that we would or should and now we do. it doesn’t have to be anything. no shopping, no trees, no stress. i truly do not believe that God cares one little bit what we do with december 25th. He’s not the one that established this “holy” day. it’s completely man-made. just my thoughts
We are all so self centered.
We either get crazy about Chrismas and go nuts with the credit card to make our experience “perfect”.
Or.
We get all intentional about “the reason for the season” and go advent conspiracy and slide down the path of works based (self) righteousness and start telling everyone how they need to follow your convictions. (Please see Matthew 6:2)
Sigh. This is the human condition. This is why the Church must return to the message of the Gospel.
-Jud
Anne, as usual, your honesty inspires me and makes me feel less alone. This year is difficult for many people for many different reasons – especially this year when people have lost their homes, their jobs, their integrity, their purpose, their way. Especially when those of us who have, in whatever capacity, are so aware of those who don’t and feel slightly immobilized or incapable of doing something significant about it.
This season is overwhelming. Moreso this year than any other.
And my pill of choice? Zanax. You’re right – we each have our crutch and each of us has no business judging each other’s way of coping. If we are aware that another person is having troubles in any way, in stead of judging, let’s cover them – with a blanket, with prayer, with love.
it don’t matter anne, it don’t matter….
by golly, go have a cupcake if it brightens your day! God made those too!
peace to you and hubs this season
Just food for thought, not judging anyone. I battle depression, just not with drugs (yet) but often food or hours of mindless entertainment (movies,Music, etc.).
What if we as Christians are supposed to experience depression?
What if it’s that depression that allows us to see our desperate need for total dependance on Jesus Christ?
A totally depressing movie I often recommend is “Shadowlands” starring Anthony Hopkins as C.S. Lewis. It is about a segment of Lewis’ life in which he is forced to embrace pain as his “teacher”.
I would not go as far as saying drugs should never be an option. I just think our culture tends to be over medicated.
I also believe much of the Church follows the World more than the Word and we’ve started to believe in a false reality… that if we are in Christ we aren’t supposed to feel pain and deep sadness.
-Jud
just saw your twitter-
ha, i was right , you need a cupcake to solve the munchies
no christmas tree and you stole those cute ornaments from me during the dirty santa party!! ;)
Dirty Santa party — my pastor/boss’ wife is going to get me in so much trouble…. :)
Pastor’s wives are like that Anne…
Jud –
Gosh, I hope you didn’t think i was referring to you when I talked about judgment. I was really talking to all of us – the world. Very general.
I think we Christians do indeed experience different difficulties so as to become more compassionate and loving. Just like Jesus walked the earth, lived life, and experienced temptation. I would agree with you on that.
I have struggled with knowing what the right balance is – how much depression do I allow into my life, how much anxiety, and at what point do I begin to medicate? My answer has come to this: I have to take the medication when I a) know there is nothing natural/homeopathic that I can do to make a change, followed by b) can no long function.
If my depression/anxiety keeps me from being a functioning person who is able to be there for her friends and family and neighbors, then I need to do something – take medication – so that I can shine Jesus’ love to others. I’m doing no one any good, myself especially, by “wallowing” (for lack of a better word) in my sadness and hopelessness.
I hope that makes sense. Trust me, I’ve struggled with my diagnosis for ten years and I’ve struggled with whether or not I should take medication. At one point I had lied to myself, talking myself into believing that my depression was simply selfishness – that if I were a less selfish person who prayed more, read the bible more, gave more, listened more, that I wouldn’t suffer. That was a lie that hurt me far more than if I had just accepted my condition and learned to work within its framework.
Now I view my medication like I would a diabetic taking insulin. We (society) would never think of telling a diabetic to stop taking her insulin and just trust God more, or give more of herself, that taking her insulin was in any way selfish. Just because my diagnosis is a mental illness, doesn’t make it any less real or worthy of treatment.
Your last paragraph was interesting to me…I find it absolutely fascinating how different our experiences of the Church and other Christians can be – even from neighborhood to neighborhood! I’ve experienced the opposite – that Christians feel that we are the most burdened because we can handle it the best because we have God’s love. Or that we are meant to experience more pain and sadness than “worldly” folks as a way to show others how, even in spite of our circumstances, we can be triumphant because of Christ. Either end of the spectrum is incredibly unhealthy thinking in my opinion.
I just think it’s interesting whenever I hear any one say “Christians…” or “The Church…” and then makes a judgment statement as though it can be applied world-wide when the reality is, our perceptions are so different, one person to another. Does that make sense? I guess I’m learning to not lump all Christians or all churches together into one globulous category. (And yes, I did just make up a new word: globulous). :)
I am reading Mother Theresa’s book right now of the letters she wrote about the darkness she experienced….I think feeling that is necessary if that’s the lot you’ve been given, but to a point where it takes you out? I agree that’s where medicine can help. I’ve also learned that sometimes my mind is stronger than the meds, and that shows that it’s more of a spiritual issue (at that moment) than chemical.
We are strange little people indeed.
Anne – definitely! There are times when the depression hits and I know I need to get my butt into therapy – not up or change my meds. I need to erase a tape that’s playing in my head usually or work through a relationship issue that I don’t even know I’m struggling with until I’m on the proverbial couch. And yes, for the last ten years, one of my biggest relationship issues has been with God. Spiritual indeed.
Some of the most creative people in the world have experienced depression and have done amazing things because of or despite it. I don’t think even the Psalms would have been written if the writer wasn’t just a bit melancholy at times. I do agree with other people who have posted here that it’s about not letting it take over and ruin your effectiveness in life.
I’m still in my PJs right now and it’s 1pm, I’m not looking forward to next week and I don’t know if I’m feeling bad because of physical tiredness and a kidney infection or if I really am that dissatisfied with my life. I’m in a long-distance relationship (and just said goodbye to him), have family who are bizarre to say the least and no job…. it’s all crashing down on me a bit today. What I do know if I still feel like this in a week or two I would definitely get help. This time of year is really hard for me usually and this year seems to be no different. I hate it that Christmas accentuates the loneliness. I feel bad as it’s not meant to be about that and I’m sure Jesus hates that we feel this way at this time of year.
Thanks for your honesty and for sharing… it really helps to have people talk about this. Christians I know in real life (not online) seem to mostly be really scared to talk about depression and you’re definitely not allowed to admit that you’re struggling at this time of year.
I agree with Kazzles. I don’t usually follow so closely a blog comment thread, but this is really therapeutic for me as well. It’s nice to be honest and open about this and not hide. Thank you, Anne, for facilitating this.
Tana,
My reference point is Job. Old Testament Job, not 9 to 5 job. : )
In America we have become so inward focused that climate changes send us for a tail spin. We have to go sit on a couch and let a PHD figure out the cause for the effect. Job had a lengthy run of severe, agonizing pain horrific losses. And God was in the center of it. In the Western culture we are so insulated from real daily suffering, I wonder if what we see as depression is really the Holy Spirit smashing our defenses so that we may get to the point of being refined.
Thinking outloud.
Jud,
I see your point. I have more thoughts on this, yet I have to go cook dinner. :) I guess I can simply say – it is never a black and white issue. Each person suffering from the depression is doing so differently from anyone else. It would be nice if we could assign a one-size-fits-all explanation, but in my experience, that’s never the case. I would agree that yes, each of us has a lesson to learn in the midst of the depression. There is a lesson to be learned in each experience we have I believe. God is certainly not silent. And I believe he uses all parts of our lives to further wake up our souls.
We all go through seasons, and with different seasons come different ways to manage those seasons.
I believe that we tend to treat depression and other brain chemistry issues as an embarassment rather than dealing with them like we would other illnesses. One of my best friends suffers from bipolar disorder. If she is not on the proper medications, she is either up all night or so depressed she considers suicide.
I believe that God gave man the wisdom to develop medications that alleviate brain chemistry issues just as He gave man the wisdom to develop medications for cancer, diabetes, allergies.
Thank you for being so transparent. These things need to be discussed rather than dismissed.
I’ve never met you in person, but you are truly a blessing in my life.
Merry Christmas :)
Anne, you have no idea how badly I needed to read this. Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year and right now my heart’s just not in it. It is such a relief to know that I am not the only one struggling to be “merry and bright” this season. Thank you.
In French there is an expression “faire le dos rond” (literally to “have a round back”) which means to curl up in a ball, so that people only see your back and stay that way the time it takes, until the storm is over, hedgehog style. The equivalent in English is “grin and bear it”, but I think the round back is much better. So go ahead and take your green pill, curl up and wait for it to pass… Your internet friends are praying for you.
Hi Anne,
I am so sorry to hear this is such an awful time of year for you. It is true though, there are just as many people who really hate Christmas for a variety of reasons, and all the merriment can seem like salt in a very sore wound. I try always to pause and remember that not everyone is having the time of their lives, and sometimes those that look the happiest are struggling the most.
In fact, psychiatrists reckon that Nov/Dec are THE worst months for them in terms of business, but it all mysteriously calms down in Jan.
Here’s praying that you make it through well :).
Love your blog. It’s fantastic
Thank you for always being so vulnerable. I think more people relate to this than they would even care to admit. Praying the darkness lifts soon.
Sorry to hear this time is so rough for you. And no I don’t think less of you because you use medication o help you through this time, not at all.
And also for future reference, I had the same problem and then created some strategies to dealing with it. Please check out the website http://www.adventconspiracy.org it will totally rock your perspective on Christmas for the better and I found makes the time much more enjoyable and less stressful.
I think you rate way up there in the extraordinary – you deserve whatever you feel like having for Christmas because your brain has to be fried helping ALL of man and woman/kind with Authoring our favorite book of ALL times “Mad Church Disease.”
Your book has given me the Christmas spirit because I know February 2009 will be here before we know it and it will be in my ole grubby hands. And at this time I would love to present you the global gold award for all your writings! Such brilliancy! I owe you many thanks for the many times my soul has opened up and been revived by you!
just curious, but with all the talk of being “judgmental” – what is the difference between being judgmental or holding a brother/sister-in-Christ accountable?
accountability seems to lack these days amongst believers, shrouded by threats that those who’d otherwise hold someone accountable is actually judging. if judging means that you recognize that someone’s actions lead them FROM Christ yet do nothing to help, then i agree. but if someone is acknowledging a problem and saying, “i can help, i’ve been there…” then how is that judging.
i’m a former drug addict. i know what it means to crutch. and if we don’t take a perspective that there is nothing but black and white, then we’re not looking with a godly view – for with God, there is black and white. He doesn’t classify sin as some better than others. plain and simple, if it derails us from our focus on Him, then it is sin. since when does He become complacent? Zeph 1:12 says He will deal with those who He hears say that He’ll do neither one thing or the other. He wishes that you’d be either hot or cold – not lukewarm.
let us not forget Paul’s words: And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19, NIV)
if where you are at is a need to be chemically dependent in order to cope, then so be it, but strive – STRIVE with all your mind, with all your strength, with all your heart and with all your soul, to ONE DAY become fully and utterly dependent upon the Lord Jesus Christ for ALL your needs.
btw, i’m not there yet, either. but as one beggar leading another to the bread, perhaps my words might help inspire you to always seek His higher Way. and in doing so, may the peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you in your troubles.
My wife and I are right there with you Anne. I love what you said about different people’e view on medication…it is so true. We do not have one piece of Christmas decor in our house. This is the first year in 27 years of my life that I have never had a Christmas tree or decorations.
b.s.
I think I answered in post #12 what the difference between judgment and accountability might look like. I think the key ingredient is compassion. That’s often missing when Christians who love to keep others accountable go about it.
Also, a crutch is something like an excuse. I’m not using medication as an excuse. I’m using medication in an effort to be the best person God intended me to be. The anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds I sometimes take are not a crutch as they enable me to not look for excuses as to why I can’t be the best person I can be.
I’m sorry that this is how you view depression – this view, held by many Christians has put us in a sorry state within the church. There are so many misunderstandings about the disease.
And by the way – I agree with you – And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19, NIV) – he has met my needs by providing me the medicine available to keep me out of the deep, dark pit.
This statement: “if where you are at is a need to be chemically dependent in order to cope, then so be it, but strive – STRIVE with all your mind, with all your strength, with all your heart and with all your soul, to ONE DAY become fully and utterly dependent upon the Lord Jesus Christ for ALL your needs.” doesn’t exactly make sense if you’re suggesting that we not take the providence God provides (in my case, medicine). At what point do we become utterly dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ for all our needs? I mean, should we not go to the doctor for a flu shot? When we get pneumonia? Should we just sit back and wait for the job offers to pour in without putting in the legwork, passing out resumes or going to interviews? See what I’m asking?
I should clarify…I am not taking valium recreationally (or every day, if that matters) :) I take it when I really need it. Just in case anyone was thinking that…
Anne,
I’m a psychologist and I applaud your post. We tell ourselves these stories about how perfect everything is going to be and then it obviously falls short. After reading your post, I thought “AMEN SISTER” – way to embrace the reality of what is. Way to live out loud what is best for you and the journey that God has you on. It is a testament to many. We can be broken, wounded, and still joyful.
Anne – LOL
Awesome!
Wendy,
Your explanation was beautifully stated. Thank you for sharing your God-given insight with usl!
i’ve been back on anti-depressants since just before thanksgiving. this has been a harder than usual season for me.
I’m glad that I am not the only one who hasn’t put a tree up! Actually, mine is in a box in the living room and I’m hoping to put it up today (i’ve been super busy. yea, i can kinda relate to your struggles). Its almost pointless now that we are only a few days away from Christmas… but I get enjoyment from seeing said decoration in my house.
We’ll see.
–Terrace Crawford
http://www.terracecrawford.com
http://www.twitter.com/terracecrawford
No tree for me either. I found it very difficult to engage with the holiday at Thanksgiving, I suspect Christmas will be no different. The past few months have been centered on surviving, which leaves little room for anything extra.
(But I just left the doctor’s office with a purse full of Lunesta!)
Jud – Have you read Henri Nouwen’s “The Wounded Healer”? It immediately came to mind when I read your second comment.
I have literally ended up in the hospital over the holidays, many years. Never directly related to mental health, but clearly it is. Pneumonia, hemorrhage, tumor, etc. My system just depletes its coping/immune mechanism. To much extended family bitterness, strife and stress. This year, one of my adult kids had a nervous breakdown and is in my care. As well, we had a tree blown into our roof in a storm and we have been iced in for a week. It should be havoc. Instead, it has given us peace and relief from being expected to be anywhere that we don’t want to be. Some places that we really wanted to go to, we did not get to, true. It has been our medicine. It has been respite. I am so glad there is a medicine that can help you through the tormented times. I adore your honesty!
The Wounded Healer is a GREAT book.
Four weeks ago a group of girls at our after school program were threatening another girl, it got to the place where one was in my face threatening me while I stood between her and the girl she sought to fight. It got scary, I was threatened repeatedly and only by the grace of God did I not get hit.
The girl who was starting the fight and threatening me came and apologized to me Tuesday. I embraced her and told her I loved her and was so glad she was back.
This girl lost her brother two Christmas Eve’s ago. Her other brother stabbed him in the chest and he died in his mothers arms on Christmas Eve. So this 14 yr old girl lives every Christmas now with the memory of one brother killing another on this night. She lost one to death, the other to life in prison.
No wonder she fights.
This Christmas Eve I will be thinking of this child. Her anger, her hate, her fear, and pray she lets Jesus heal her heart.
Thanks for your honesty Anne, I hope we all continue to find God’s own path for ourselves. While I still consider Christmas my favorite time of the year, I completely understand what you’re saying. For me the topic that causes the most stress isn’t the holidays but the “theologies” that some consume themselves with. Have a great holiday, regardless of how you chose to spend it :-)
@tana
i’m not sure what angle you are coming at… you said that [my statement] “doesn?t exactly make sense if you?re suggesting that we not take the providence God provides…”
i don’t agree that a crutch is an excuse – or even like an excuse. an excuse is something that one uses when they often could go without the very thing they are using for the excuse. a crutch is quite literally a device one uses under the arm to hold them upright and keep them mobile when the body that God otherwise gave to them is unable to bear the weight at the moment. but it is also used to help the one using it to get PAST this moment in their storm so they can heal and be strong on their own.
where did i suggest that we not take the providence God provides? in fact, i agreed with your assertion when i brought up zeph 1:12. we are called to step out in faith and watch God go before us through that. you’re right – go out and look for that job! watch God direct you right to the one He wants you to be in!
your question: “At what point do we become utterly dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ for all our needs?”
the bibles answer: NOW! if not before now, as that would be impossible. where do we find in scripture (who happens to be the Final Authority regardless of what we may agree to disagree on) where we are NOT utterly dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ for all our needs? the very fact that even just one simple, small verse (phil 4:19) states to do so, is good enough a commandment from the Almighty to do immediately. growth in our faith, belief and love will come slower, but the commandment to be so utterly dependent comes with a time frame to execute it at this very moment.
if you wanted to run a 5k, you would set your mind to run that, but start small. your lifestyle would change so that you would obtain your goal of 5k – you may start running as little as 1/2 a mile a day, depending on where you’re at. nonetheless, you won’t stay running 1/2 a mile a day if you wanted to see progress. our walk is personal, just like @anne said, “Way to live out loud what is best for you and the journey that God has you on.” this is YOUR journey. it is YOUR choice where you’ll go with it, how long you will choose to take medication, whether you’ll continue following God or even how much of His grace you’ll accept. what may be right for you is the grace God through Jesus Christ extends to you – it may not necessarily be the grace that is extended to someone else. if this be the grace in Christ you have found, then so be it – to the extent that it draws you closer to Christ and glorifies God – that being the litmus test.
there is more grace to be had by the individual child of God than what the individual child of God is willing to accept and embrace for their own walk with Jesus. what may be grace for one, is not for another. i believe you have identified this in your own walk.
b.s.
I am not coming from any particular angle. No moreso than any of us do, by approaching things from our own perspectives.
I must have read (and continue to read) your initial post incorrectly because it seemed to me that you were saying that at some point, when our faith in God and reliance upon God is enough, we wouldn’t have need for medicine to treat depression. I got this impression from this statement (so as to be clear): “if where you are at is a need to be chemically dependent in order to cope, then so be it, but strive – STRIVE with all your mind, with all your strength, with all your heart and with all your soul, to ONE DAY become fully and utterly dependent upon the Lord Jesus Christ for ALL your needs.”
I read this to mean that at one point, when I have become fully and utterly dependent upon the Lord Jesus Christ, I will not need to “be chemically dependent in order to cope.”
I will likely be on anti-depressants for the rest of my life. I’ve been told by doctors and my own attempts to rid myself of the need for them have proven to be both extremely dangerous (suicidal) and futile. And every time I tried to remove the drug from my system, I was doing so because I was under this false understanding that my faith in God and God’s grace was simply not sufficient. This is an extremely dangerous viewpoint that can result in death.
I have to ask for your and everyone else’s forgiveness if my words have been read as combative. It is not my intent, however, I can completely cop to the fact that some may read it in that light because of how strongly I feel about the subject matter. It’s personal. I can’t make it not. It’s also extremely personal how my fellow Christians choose to view me and the disease they don’t understand. I can’t help that either. And I suppose I naively believe that if i enter these kinds of dialogues and challenge the faulty thinking that spirituality can somehow “fix” this kind of disease, that I might be able to help. Obviously that isn’t always the case. My faith and walk with God and the grace given to me certainly has given me the ability to walk through it, but it can’t fix it using my spirituality. I have to look at it like, hey, if God heals me, that’s great! I accept! But in the meantime, I have to look at it more like Jud, it’s a learning lesson, an opportunity for growth.
I’m so impressed with your honesty and openness! As you say in your post, Christmas is different for each of us and “thats OK”!
I enjoy your blog and Twitter updates!
I have a .25 Xanax prescription. I sometimes break it in half. Now, you’d think that half a .25 isn’t really doing anything. But when I put that under my tongue and let it dissolve, just the horrible taste of it brings a psychological calm to me that has kept me from flipping out many a time. So, I’ve been meaning to ask y’all, what’s the alien version of Xanax? (grin)
Too many believers complain about not having a Christ-mas attitude. Wake up, the time is short and we need to use whatever is available to connect the masses to Jesus.
The meaning of Christ-mas that I gave to my children (whether they remember or not) is that we don’t say, “chris-mas” rather “Christ-mas” (some people don’t like this–Oh, well). Their mother and I told them that the ever-green tree stands for eternal life and the lights are stars with “the Star of Bethlehem at the top of the tree. The adornments represent the wondrous things that God through Jesus can bring into ones life.
Oh and the real St. Nick according to my research gave gifts because God gave Jesus his only son.
I must admit, I did add one item to the tree this year, a large, red cellophane cross so the stars can shine through because He was born to die for you and me. I will email you a copy.
May you have a blessed CHRIST-mas!
Hey Tana,
I thought for a long time that I would be on prescription antidepressants forever too, but now I am taking homeopathic antidepressants that are allowing me to wean off Zoloft. It’s working much better than the Zoloft, because I can adjust to how much depression, anxiety, and stress care I need.
My homeopathist orders them from a company called Professional Complementary Health Formulas. I don’t know who you can go to to get them if you don’t live in DFW like I do.
Just wanted to pass that on. I don’t know how much the formulas will help you, but, they helped me.
This is the first time I’ve visited your blog, and it felt like a small weight lifted off of me reading your post. I won’t go into details, but at a certain point in my life, I needed similar medications just to function. And in that same moment, I had never felt more judged or abandoned by my own church in my entire life. I don’t blame them, though, the church has a LONG way to go when it comes to counceling those suffering from mental illness. People are scared of what they don’t understand. Anyway, thanks again. Your post was refreshing.
Your blog is just beautifully honest. It inspires me to be more honest myself. Grace and peace to you!
I’m sure everyone’s heard this before, but this is a joke my counselor told me when she kindly presented medication as an option for treating the depression I was wrestling with:
There was a huge flood in a big neighborhood, and a guy’s house was flooding. A neighbor in a rowboat came by, but he turned down the help, saying “No, my God will save me!”
A rescue boat came by to get him, but he turned down the help again, saying, “No, it’s okay, God is going to save me!”
The flooding got worse, and the man had to stand on his roof and wait. A rescue helicopter came to get him, but he said, “I don’t need help. God is going to save me!”
The guy, of course, drowned, and when he stood before God, he asked “Why didn’t you save me?”
God said, “I sent you two boats and a helicopter, and you turned them all down!”
I don’t believe medicine is evil. It is not a substitute for the healing and peace we receive from God, but I believe it is something that he provides to heal part of us in a real time of need.
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