Happy to be Alive!!

Today I received an email from Kristin, and it absolutely made my day!! Kristin has given me permission to share what she has written with you in the hope that it will encourage your heart and give you hope. Mark 5:25-34 tells the story of a woman with the issue of blood - it says that she spent everything she had at the hands of many physicians, but instead of getting better, she just kept getting worse. That account was set back in the Bible days, but Kristin’s story is a modern day version of a very similar story. I can’t improve on her words, so I’ll just share them with you. I hope you are as uplifted by this as I was…

Dear Nancy,

Today is a very special day for me, I am celebrating being alive. A year ago I hit rock bottom and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital on suicide watch. I had no hope to live. I was suffering from a life-controlling anxiety disorder, self-harm and an eating disorder. I didn’t think I would ever find freedom from my issues. I had gone to secular doctors and counselors, but even with their help, my life never improved. They never gave me solutions; they only gave me “coping mechanisms”. I had concluded that I didn’t want to just “cope” with life, so in the psychiatric hospital I cried out to God for a solution. His solution was Mercy Ministries- I am now a Mercy Ministries Graduate!

Now, life is better than I could’ve ever imagined! The things that I learned at Mercy impact my life everyday. I learned how to eat healthy, exercise and take care of my body. But most importantly, I learned how to be led by the Spirit and not by my emotions and how to give God my anxieties. God used Mercy to change my life forever. Currently, I am in college with a major in biology and the desire to continue on to medical school and become a doctor.

Thank you Nancy for following God’s call and starting Mercy Ministries- my life has been changed!

Love,
Kristin

In closing, I just want to mention that at Mercy Ministries, we have great psychiatrists and medical doctors that work directly with us in monitoring and adjusting the medications of the girls as needed. Often times, as in Kristin’s case, by the time they work through their spiritual and emotional issues, they no longer need medication. I thank God for trained counselors, psychiatrists, and the entire medical profession, but at the end of the day, the ultimate healer is Jesus Christ. I hope this is encouraging to you, whatever you may be facing in your life. Kristin is a perfect example of what God spoke directly to us in Jeremiah 29:11 – These are the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future. Kristin’s hope has been restored and her future is bright. That scripture was not written to a few, but to all who choose to believe it.

Have a great day.

Nancy