Posts tagged as:

Depression

The Sheet

by Andy Wood on May 10, 2010

in Five LV Laws,LV Stories,Principle of Legacy,Turning Points

You never knew Lillie Edwards.  I hardly did either, except for a brief two-week period years ago.  But Lillie will always be a significant figure in my life and memory. 

When I met Lillie Edwards, she was dying.  I was green-green-green as a young pastor, serving in my first church in a senior role.

Lillie Edwards would be my first funeral service.  But she taught me some things about living, and about dying, before our paths parted. [click to continue…]

{ 1 comment }

The Sinking Soul

by Andy Wood on May 6, 2010

in Ability,LV Cycle,Life Currency,Protecting Your Investment,Waiting

This has been a season for sinking souls.

In California, two very dear friends are facing their second-greatest fear as their son is deployed with the Marines to Afghanistan.  They know the promises of God.  They know full-well that every other military parent or spouse has walked this same path.  But that doesn’t change the fact that the emotions are more than they bargained for.  Tossed about and beat up, their souls are sinking.

Here in Lubbock, a bright young professional had launched a successful and lucrative career when his work was upended by petty, jealous people.  He lost his job and another significant source of income.  And though he was innocent of the lies told against him, and though he has bounced back in a different setting, he still retreats to an emotional cave of isolation, as if he were totally guilty.  Broken, bewildered, and just going through the motions, his soul is sinking.

In my home state, a once-confident, faith-filled woman lives in the wake of one of the most grotesque griefs of all – the death of a dream.  Sure she had heard from the Lord about her future, and bold in her expectations of how He would order her steps, nothing has turned out as expected.  First the heartbreak.  Then the waiting.  Then more disappointment.  Now rudderless and aimless, she feels powerless to choose any direction… her soul is sinking.

However committed or expectant you or I are, none of us is immune to the sinking of the soul. [click to continue…]

{ 1 comment }

When Your World is Dark

by Andy Wood on June 5, 2009

in Insight,LV Cycle,LV Stories,Life Currency,Love,Tense Truths,Uncategorized,Waiting

candle-smokeTense Truth:  Jesus, the Light of the World, will sometimes allow us to experience seasons of darkness in order to teach us to trust Him, not guarantees.  But He warns us not to turn back to that other kind of darkness – a world of evil or self-initiated “light” in order to find quick-fix relief.

First I’ll give you the pieces, then I’ll put them all together.

  • A couple of weeks ago I was having lunch with a friend and he made a profound statement: “When your world is dark, the temptation is to turn deeper into the darkness for relief.” So true. And yet it makes about as much sense as digging your way out of a hole.
  • Someone once asked me if I’d ever had a midlife crisis. I blurted out instantly, “Yeah, I’ve had about a dozen of ‘em.”
  • I’ve noticed a recurring pattern lately. I’m dealing with a significant number of professional men, all of whom could be classified as successful. In fact, they’re geniuses at what they do – so good, they can do it without a lot of thinking. And yet they’re bored, restless, or even depressed. Before my very eyes, they’re starting to act dead-before-they-die. In fact, my most common deep spiritual advice to them is, “You’re not dead yet!”
  • Have you ever noticed that people who are living “in the darkness” are also the loudest to predict a dark future? Wonder if that’s just a coincidence?

More than once somebody or something has rocked my Zippity-do-dah world and faith and, for lack of a better way of describing it, “turned the lights off.”  What’s ironic is that it didn’t happen because I’d screwed up or was somehow running from God.  In fact, the darkness happened while I was pursuing the Lord and, by all accounts and purposes, growing. [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

The Secret Sadness

by Andy Wood on December 3, 2008

in Insight,LV Cycle,Life Currency,Love,Protecting Your Investment

This just in… modern newlyweds are increasingly dealing with “the bridal blues.”  Doctors report that the expectations of newlyweds are so high, and married life such a letdown after all the planning and excitement of the big day, that an increasing number of brides are suffering post-nuptial depression.  The feelgood factor fades so fast that up to 10 per cent of couples suffer enough remorse, sadness or frustration to seek counseling.

Wow.  You mean it wasn’t whispy clouds and fairy dust as you lived happily ever after?  And Franck Eggelhoffer isn’t there to plan the details of your marriage like he did your wedding?  And Daddy’s not there to pay your bills?  And sex doesn’t cure everything, or come with an orchestra in your bedroom?  And to add insult to injury, you find yourself married to a sometimes-sweaty, stinky boy, who leaves socks and underwear on the floor?  Or to a woman, who – get this – ain’t yo’ mamma, your maid, or your madame?  She’s no Cinderella, and you’re not exactly Prince Charming.

Those expectations take you for a ride sometimes, don’t they?

Dr. Terry Eagan has a name for post-wedding depression. He calls it the secret sadness.  Why? Because the women who suffer from it are often too embarrassed to tell anybody. And men simply bottle up their feelings.

The Secret Sadness is real.  And it isn’t limited to newlyweds. [click to continue…]

{ 2 comments }