We All Need Somebody to Lean On

I recently joined an online support group for those with bipolar disorder. It’s been a blessing. I have met a lot of people who experience the same mental illness and they offer much insight and collective wisdom. But most of all, they are not crazy, which means I am not crazy. I know that may sound weird, but I wasn’t sure about it. Hearing their stories and their current struggles has given me hope that all will be okay if I just keep on doing what I am doing and stay on the medications.

I am also a part of a world wide support group known as the people of God. They, too, have much insight and collective wisdom, and I find fellowship with them. I rub elbows with them daily and even keep in contact by email and websites, just like my new found support site.

Just like I have been unsure at times about my sanity, there also have been times when I have wondered about my faith, my salvation. And just as I find support at the mental health website I have found, so too, I find support and encouragement among other Christians. None of us are meant to go it alone. We need each other’s support as we walk in this world. We are family joined together by the Spirit who makes us one with Christ.

One of the Psalms says how good it is for the people of God to dwell peacefully together. We were crafted for relationship with God and with each other. We are a band of brothers and sisters who pray for one another, and love unconditionally just as Christ loves us, no matter what. The old song, “we are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord” rings true.

Whatever your burden, there are willing hands to help carry the load. We walk the same path. And even though we may have different struggles, we share the same weaknesses that required Jesus to bear the cross. That oneness before the cross makes us inseparable in this life and the next.

Bill Withers sang a song years ago: “Just call on me brother when you need a hand; we all need somebody to lean on. I just might have a problem that you’ll understand; we all need somebody to lean on.” As I lean on Christ, I also lean on my brothers and sisters, and they lean on me. We are there for each other. There is no better support group.

His Grace is Sufficient for Me

The holidays are past and the dreariness of winter is setting in. I know for many people, winter sometimes induces depression. Short days, cold temperatures, weak sunlight. I know it is hard for me to avoid the feeling of depression. But it is more than that for me. I am bipolar and depression and I are intimately acquainted. I also exhibit symptoms of hypomania at times—uncontrolled thoughts, inappropriate speech, anxiety, rage, spiked energy that robs me of sleep and keeps me unable to focus. I feel great for a little while, then the edginess sets in and I get highly irritable, angry and unable to control my emotions. I take medications that help. If it weren’t for them, I’d have a hard time writing this.

I have asked the question for the past several years: where is God in all this? Indeed, I would imagine that others ask that same question about circumstances that affect them as well. We all suffer at times. For me, it’s mental illness, and it will be a lifelong condition. I will be on medication the rest of my life to control it. So where is God? Why do I have to live with this condition?

When I get to the place of despair, I am reminded of Paul. He, too, had a besetting problem that he sought God to take away. He asked multiple times. But God did not, effectively saying “no” to his request. In fact, he got an answer from God: “My grace is sufficient for you.” What that looked like for Paul, we do not know. But one thing is for sure, Paul was able to carry on.

What that tells me is that God has said the same to me, because as many times as I have asked, nothing has changed. He is telling me that his grace will suffice. But he has not left me to fend for myself. His grace has made a way for me in the medicines I take. That is his answer to my need.

I will always grapple with mental illness. It has affected me all my life. But God’s grace overcomes and though I exhibit symptoms now and then, I can continue to lean on Jesus for the strength I need to live life to the fullest. I can experience God’s grace and strength in my weakness. For that I am grateful. I may not fully understand God’s plan for me, but I can follow the path he has laid out for me and rest assured he will walk with me through the journey.