The Reading Warehouse

He had been struggling with depression and anxiety for years, but no one really knew how deep it went. When my son shared with me that he struggles with debilitating depression and anxiety, I felt paralyzed and unable to help him. I felt that somehow I had failed him, that I missed the opportunities to give him the love and security he needed. Where did I go wrong? It wasn't until after he really began to open up to me, that I realized that it wasn't my fault, it wasn't his fault, it was no one's fault.

After seeking help with the physical, social and mental part of this disease - there was still something missing. The counseling was helping, the medicine stopped the attacks, his social life began to open up and provide healing, but there was still something that wasn't being filled. I quickly realized that we far too often neglect, and sometimes avoid, the spiritual side of depression and anxiety. As ignorant as it is to focus ONLY on the spiritual side, it is just as ignorant to believe that secular counseling and medicine can bring us completely whole again.

It was then that I dedicated myself to spend 30 days in God's Word and seek His answers to depression and anxiety. I did not expect to find much, but was surprised when the words came alive and began to flood my heart and mind. God has SO MUCH to say about this. The Bible is filled with stories, examples and healing words to those who struggle with this terrible life-stealing disease. Each day I would spend time in the Word and wrote a devotional, a 'thought for the day', an encouragement or just an observation. I then emailed them to my son to arrive in his inbox at 7am the next morning. We both agreed that I would do this for 30 days and he would start his day with reading and meditating on them.

This is a success story. My son has grown so much and is now pursuing goals and dreams that have been dormant for too long. This isn't a story about how great of a dad I am, or how great of a son I have. It is a story of how great our Father in heaven is. A Father who loves us, and who has provided for us in His Word. It is a story of a Father who works within the lives and relationships of earthly father and sons to build men of God based on godly masculinity. My hope and my prayer is that these words can somehow provide a level of healing encouragement to those with the same struggle and also for those who love them.