Be a Mountain
I shared recently on a Facebook post during my One Minute Saturday Morning messages the importance of being a mountain. Last week a friend of mine was struggling with negative thinking. He felt like God thought of him as a "bastard" child. He was struggling with depression and all these terrible thoughts were going through his mind about himself. Have you ever felt that way? I know that this year has been horrible for many people. The pandemic, loss of income, and at times being stuck at home. Some have enjoyed this era. They have adapted, they have grown, and life actually looks better. However, many people have struggled. In fact, in a published study of where 1.5 million Americans did mental health assessments, statistics concerning the State of Mental Health in America were sad to read. Check out these statistics:
"The number of people looking for help with anxiety and depression has skyrocketed. From January to September 2020, 315,220 people took the anxiety screen, a 93 percent increase over the 2019 total number of anxiety screens. 534,784 people took the depression screen, a 62 percent increase over the 2019 total number of depression screens. The number of people screening with moderate to severe symptoms of depression and anxiety has continued to increase throughout 2020 and remains higher than rates prior to COVID-19. In September 2020, the rate of moderate to severe anxiety peaked, with over 8 in 10 people who took an anxiety screen scoring with moderate to severe symptoms. Over 8 in 10 people who took a depression screen have scored with symptoms of moderate to severe depression consistently since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
More people are reporting frequent thoughts of suicide and self-harm than have ever been recorded in the MHA Screening program since its launch in 2014. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread rapidly in March 2020, over 178,000 people have reported frequent suicidal ideation. 37 percent of people reported having thoughts of suicide more than half or nearly every day in September 2020."
As you can read...our mind and our thoughts can be our greatest enemy sometimes. So my friend told me that not only did he hate himself, but felt like God hated him too. I acknowledged how he felt. I didn't want to just dismiss how he felt. It actually broke my heart that he was having those thoughts. Obviously, I know those thoughts are lies his brain is telling him, but I also cared how he was feeling and didn't want to minimize it. After we shared with one another, I told him about an illustration that another friend of mine that suffers with depression shared on Instagram. He wrote that his counselor believes we need to see ourselves like a mountain, and that the negative thoughts that come to our head to be seen like clouds that pass by the mountain peaks. I loved this illustration because I believe that it can help anyone that is struggling with negative thinking, evil thoughts, suicidal thoughts, or thinking that God sees you as a "bastard." Please don't think this is the only thing you need to do to battle terrible thoughts that come to your mind. I believe in seeing a counselor and taking pills to help with the chemicals going haywire in our heads. But sometimes even taking pills and getting counseling can't remove those thoughts that come out of nowhere. So for those struggling...see yourself as a mountain. The mountain never moves. The clouds always move. When you see the peak of mountains, many times they are surrounded by clouds, but the same cloud never stays...it passes by. When the thoughts attack your mind, hold on...wait...and let the cloud pass by.
Unfortunately, more clouds of negativity will eventually come again just like clouds pass by the peaks of mountains over and over again, but eventually they go away and clear skies prevail. Enjoy those days of clear skies. Those are incredible blessings. I believe this practice of seeing ourselves like a mountain is beneficial for those who constantly think they are failures, losers, or hate themselves; but it can also aid with those who are depressed, and might even save a life for those struggling with suicide. I encourage you to see yourself as a mountain. Everyone loves a beautiful mountain, and that's what you are. A beautiful strong mountain, wonderfully made and loved by an all powerful creator.
What clouds of negativity make you feel down? What do you do to overcome? Share with me so I can share with others. We are in this together. Let's all be mountains and hang on to the foundation that can keep us in place. That foundation being Jesus Christ...our Rock. And with this display love to yourself and those around you.
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