Following His Directions Will Never Get You Lost

Back in September/October when I was diagnosed with ADD the Lord gave me a burden/desire to help others who are dealing with mental illness by offering encouragement and tips I've learned along my way and by raising awareness in the community as many mental disorders are still greatly misunderstood.  I talked with my Pastor and my ADD Coach about it and both were willing to help and thought it was a good idea.  One thing led to another and eventually my plan(s) fell by the wayside but never left my heart.  I realize now, God was showing me what He had in store for me and I just wasn't where He needed me to be at the time.

I continued to work and pray and really began to come to grips with my own situation but left a large amount stress at work unresolved which eventually began to wear me down both physically and mentally.  Finally, the week between Christmas and New Year's I came down with a very bad case of bronchitis (on the verge of pneumonia) and had/got to spend 3 days at home.  Now, I'm not saying I'm glad I was sick, but it honestly was the best thing that could have happened to me at that time.  It gave me just enough of a break away from work to realize just how relaxing life could be and just how unnecessary it was for me to keep all that stress bottled up inside.  I was finally in the right mindset to be able to deal with and put behind me all that had been keeping me down.

I'm not going to get into the specifics because they're irrelevant.  All that needs to be said now is that, once I was able to move past all that stress, it was like a switch was flipped and I began to really feel myself getting back to being the person I had always down was lost down inside somewhere.  Things began to go so much better I almost couldn't keep up with it though I was really enjoying trying. :-)  Then the Lord brought back all those ideas I'd had months earlier and let me know it was time.

I plan to use this blog to post things I've learned, whether they be about mental illness in general or things I've learned along the way that help me cope.  Initially I will focus on depression, anxiety, and ADD, as those are the conditions I have and have the most experience with, but I hope to eventually expand my research to include other mental disorders as well. 

I've got a couple other things I'm working on as well but I'm going to keep those under wraps for now.  I want them to be a surprise so, if you are one of the few people I've let in on my plan, please no comments about it on here.  Please leave those comments to our personal communication until I'm ready to announce them.

So, that's about it for today but, before I sign off for the night, I want to leave you with something my Momma taught me when I was growing up and has been a big help to me working through the tough times as I learn more and more about my depression, anxiety, and especially the ADD.

The Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.

More to come in the next post about how applying the Serenity Prayer has helped me get to where I am today, the happiest and most satisfied I've ever been in my adult life!