I knew postpartum depression was coming for me. The darkness of depression has companioned me during various seasons of my life, and I knew my hormones weren’t going to give me a break after having a baby. It lasted for…
How a leap of faith from a bridge killed a part of me that actually needed to die
During my Ph.D. program, I found myself drowning in the deepest depression of my life — and that’s saying a lot. In college, a misunderstanding with a professor had prompted me to raise my dorm window and think very seriously…
One tip for finding peace and gratitude now
As we approach Thanksgiving, I have been thinking about all the things for which I am grateful. Admittedly, this can be a challenge during times of political upheaval and uncertainty. Like so many other people around the country, those in…
Thanks to the college student who prescribed me an anti-pride-essant
Thoughts of suicide hounded me even though I was preaching every Sunday about abundant life. I had suffered from depression and anxiety long before the stress of Ph.D. work. Now the pain was compounded by taking a double full-time course…
What your faith community needs to know for Suicide Awareness Month
This article discusses suicide and suicidal ideation. If you are in crisis, call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You know someone, even if you don’t know it. You work with someone. Go to school with someone….
What will you do with your Daniel scar?
Today, I did something I’ve never done before at a funeral. Something so ill-advised that pastoral care professors reading this likely will flinch on hearing it. Something that’s the wrong thing except when it is suddenly very necessary. I told…
Sometimes hanging on is all you can do, and it’s enough
“And let us not be weary in well doing,” the Apostle Paul advised in his letter to the Galatians, “for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Sometimes, well doing may mean just hanging on. Even Paul,…
Here’s what I’m learning in therapy
I’m not a person who lives with classic depression, but there have been several times in the last few years where I truly didn’t care whether I lived or died. The most recent episode lasted nearly two years. I chalked…
It is well with my soul? How Mel Gibson and toilet paper helped rescue my appreciation of a hymn
I knew there would come a day when I couldn’t sing it. As a kid, I loved the majesty of the hymn It is Well with My Soul. As life’s harsher realities set in, however, I came to hate it….