Beginnings
I have read quite a few articles tackling the subject of depressed Christians. Almost all of them at some point say something along the lines of, “Christians think they shouldn’t get depressed or have mental issues.” I’ve never actually heard anyone say that but I can understand the point. Christians are supposed to have hope, we have a savior in Jesus Christ and we know all will work out in the end.
Sometimes, though, we don’t want to wait for the end. We want it to work out now. I think everyone gets depressed now and then. The trials of life pile up in such a way that we feel like the universe has a personal vendetta against us. We wonder where God is in the midst of our pain and why he would do this to us. This is usually temporary and the good Christian learns to deal with it and move on. That’s the way it’s supposed to work, right?
Then there are those of us who are depressed for no apparent reason. Life is good–nice house, good job, a spouse that loves you, kids grown and out of the house (ahhh…) and all those other wonderful things. Then we wake up one day and wonder why God didn’t take us in the middle of the night. We had a great time with family and friends the night before and this morning just the thought of picking that shoe up off the floor seems a monumental task. The darkness falls for no reason other than those pesky chemicals imbalancing again.
I am of this second type. Hello, my name is Tom and I am a depressed Christian. Glad to meet you. Don’t come too close, I need my space. Introvert, you know. Not much of a hugger, either. Church people can sense a non-hugger. They hug everyone else and then give you that look that says, “I’m not sure what to do here”. I can’t blame them. I don’t know what to do either. Actually, I was getting better about the hugging thing and then the #MeToo movement came along and I’m nervous about it again.
I am also a writer of horror and supernatural fiction. Writing keeps me sane and drives me insane at the same time. Stories crowd my mind insisting on coming out. They refuse to take no for an answer. John Burke stumbled around in there for five years before I finally purged myself of him by writing Eve of Redemption. I think he needed closure. I gave it to him and we were both pretty happy with the way his story turned out. Unfortunately (or fortunately) helping poor John Burke caused all of these other strange characters to rise up and demand their own stories.
Now, I know what a lot of you are thinking (at least the two of you who are actually reading this. Hi Mom and Dad!). You are thinking, “Isn’t a blog about depression going to be…depressing? Well, that’s not my intention. I don’t know just what I intend this to be. My thought is to simply start and see where it goes. I humbly invite you all along for the ride. Depressed folks unite! Joyful folks, we could use some of your perkiness. Not too much, that can be painful, but some is good.
Take care,
Tom