Elder Holland's talk* about mental and emotional illness really hit home. I have an uncle who is bipolar and a heroin addict; a brother who is bipolar and schizophrenic; and I have PTSD and have suffered with bouts of depression since 1995. The counselor I saw this summer told me that writing about my life and experiences would be therapeutic for me and be of benefit to someone else. I'm not sure how to elaborate my life experiences to others, especially the medical ones. A time line has been running through my head today, especially since I've been having symptoms of another issue and have to see my doctor again.
The point of this is not to depress you or make me feel worse but, to point out that no matter what you think you might know about a person and their present struggles, a person could have already gone through things that have broken them in the past. Present day struggles are re-breaking things that have been broken before--sometimes over and over again.
"And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them; I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God." (Zechariah 13:9)
I love old buildings and cry a bit inside when I hear of some being torn down or condemned. When I look at a boarded up house, missing a few shingles, and the paint is peeling I don't see the broken windows or peeling paint; I see the beauty that is possible if someone loved enough to work to make visible what is there despite the cosmetic flaws. Most of the time all it takes is a little hard work and patience to restore or improve what already exists rather than tearing down and replacing with something new.
“When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful.” ~Barbara Bloom
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