Keep on Fighting!

Next Step by Melissa Greene

Have you ever been too weak,
too weak to stand,
to weak to even try and understand

Every tear,
every pain inside

Have you ever been knocked down,
broken and tired,
slipping away,
losing the fire,

Stuck in your life,
can’t ever seem to move on

You don’t have to be the one who see
the way this all will end

All you got to do is take the next step,
come on come on,
and take the next step
When your losing the fight and the finish line’s too far away

All you got to do is take the next step
just get back up and take the next step

Deep in your soul there’s a strength just to face one more day

Just take the next step

Have you ever been held,
held by a peace,
a peace that you can’t ever explain

A calm in the ache,
joy that you feel inside

Have you ever been carried,
lifted by arms standing you up,
up off the ground
letting you know that your never walking alone

You don’t have to be the one who sees the way this all will end

You can’t control the future and yesterday is gone,
but the God who wrote your story is the God who moves you on

One more prayer...

O Lady of Mental Peace, Mother of tranquility and Mother of hope , Look upon me in this time of my weakness and unrest. Teach my searching heart to know that God's love for me is unchanging and unchangeable; and that true human love can only begin and grow by touching His love. Let your gentle peace- which this world cannot give- be always with me. And, help me to bring that same peace into the lives of others. Our Lady of Mental Peace, Pray for us! Amen.

A prayer to Our Lady of the Smile for those with Depression

Gentle Mary, My Mother,
I place before you the worries,
hurts and hopes of my heart.
They shrink my soul and I feel heavy and hopeless.
Darkness closes in around me.
I reach out to you, bright Lady of Hope.
Smile on me.
Smile on my loved ones and the intentions I place before you.
Your tender smile works miracles and heals,
as you did with St. Thérèse, the Little Flower.
You are my true Mother.
You show the tender mercy of God.
Smile on me, Blessed Mother,
and all will be well.



On May 13, 1883, Our Lady of the Smile, healed St. Therese of the Child Jesus as a child when she was bedridden with a mysterious illness. Some people think her illness was an emotional-mental crisis. On that day, St. Therese turned her head to a statue of the Virgin near her bed, and prayed for a cure. "Suddenly" Therese writes, "....Mary's face radiated kindness and love." Therese was healed. The statue has since been called "Our Lady of the Smile".

He will hold you...

When its so dark within you that you can no longer pray... He will hold you. When the pain is so deep that you can no longer weep... He will hold you. When you shake in your weakness... He will hold you.When you are in the depths of darkness remember that He is there, holding you.

.........................

*I removed the recent posts because I want this blog to be for people's encouragement and not about me. Thank you.

the freedom of a diagnosis...

Did it happen to you? did you sighed in relief when there was finally a name for what was happening to you? did you weep tears of joy when you realized there were others struggling like you and that there was treatment, hope?

For five years I walked in darkness. Not knowing what was wrong but knowing that something was terribly wrong. I prayed to my beloved Christ for freedom. I begged him. And He let it come when my therapist said " you have OCD. "

I invite you to see your diagnosis as something liberating. You now know who is your enemy. You know what it is, and what it is not. You know the strategies to defeat it. You are no longer in the darkness of the unknown.

For me this means that when a disturbing OCD though comes now I can look at it, chuckle and say "its just OCD." Knowing it does not define me and that it will not and cannot destroy me. Praise God!

overeating, fasting, health, self esteem and vanity

That's a long title isn't it? But it pretty much sums up all the issues that I am struggling with regarding certain silly medicine that is making me gain weight. I am overeating which in my OCD/scrupulous mind means that I do not have self control/practice mortification as I should plus when I look at myself in the mirror and ( probably exaggerating ) feel bad for being "fat" I feel that I am being vane, and when I am walking around the mall I feel jealous of all the thin, blond, blue eyed girls which makes me feel stupid for being so insecure, and all this combined makes me come to the edge of depression.. which makes me feel weak.

so by the end of the day I end up thinking "I am such a stupidly insecure vane fat weak sinner !"

wow, talk about low self esteem!

But voicing it in this little blog is actually helpful. When I voice it I laugh a little because it is so exaggerated and over the top. And then I can claim reality.

I am the Beloved of God and my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I will take care of my body the temple of the Holy Spirit by exercise and eating healthy. I will do this not to be "attractive" or to seek attention, but to let the beauty of my soul reflect in my body. I will not let my body become an idol. The Lord is the only God I will worship.

Claiming being the Beloved of God clears out the insecurity.
When I use words as "I will " I become empowered to change myself and no longer feel weak.
And all this help my self esteem, and because it is the Truth it brings me closer to Him.

This sounds very "Dr. Phil-ish" but it is working for me. Thought I would share. :)

Today...

• I will recall that I am a child of God. I am one who is created out of Love. I am chosen, good, holy and have purpose...a task to perform here on Earth before I return to the Father. I deserve to be treated as a person who has value and dignity.


• I will embrace my illness or my family members illness as a friend this day looking for what it is teaching me about the mystery of God and Life.


• I will not allow the stigma of mental illness to defeat me this day. I will choose to have power over stigma by detaching myself from the stigma.


• I will talk to someone today who will encourage me to see my goodness and holiness as a child of God. Maybe we will share a prayer together for one another.


• I will look for humor and reasons to laugh and be happy. Quiet joy will be my goal.


• I will read a passage from Scripture or something from a book of devotion, inspiration or spiritual reading that will encourage me to trust and hope in the power and love of God.


• I will seek twenty minutes of solitude, silence, prayer this day. If my mind won’t quiet down, if my thoughts keep racing, I will offer that as my prayer to God. If necessary and helpful, I will listen to soothing instrumental music or inspirational/religious music to quiet me and remind me that God is present.


• I will walk outdoors marveling at a sunrise, a sunset, the song of a bird, the soothing colors of nature...the serenity of green grass, a blue sky, the softness of the pastel colored blossoms of Springtime and the peaceful waters of a river, lake or stream that ripple and flow. I will remind myself that everything in nature is a reflection of the Creator and pleases the Creator just as it is and so do I just as I am.


• I will delight in the knowledge that we are each created different because it is in our differences we make a more powerful and beautiful whole. We each reflect a different aspect of the mystery of Life and God. Individually and together we are a Masterpiece!


• In God is my hope and my joy. I will give honor, glory and praise to God knowing and trusting what God has in store for me. We do not seek or like suffering but our suffering can make us strong in many ways and more compassionate and loving to others...our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
  
  Prayer-Inspiration from Ministries for the Mentally Ill of the diocese of Chicago.