I recently sent out an email to family and friends, in my efforts to educate more people about depression. I really didn't expect replys...but I got a few. There were many kind comments of support and love offered. I appreciated that so much. But....there was also something else. I'm not really sure how to explain it. There was a handful of people who's words and tone came across as very patronizing. I found myself sitting back in my chair puzzled. Kind of shaking my head. I had flashes of these people...because many of them had also struggled through depression and anxieties....deep struggles of the mind and heart. I had watched them and walked with them. I also watched them be released from these things. The pain and anguish slipping away and becoming invisible before their eyes. What a blessing. But now...here they were living a new kind of life, and they had forgotten. How quick to forget the road they walked.
I wonder about this. I try and think of how many times I have done this. When someone is hurting, do I give them a pat on the back and "wish them luck"?? Do I not take the time to think about them and THINK about what they are really going through? Do I just "Talk the talk" and not "Walk the walk"? And even more important, do they SEE and KNOW that I am not taking their pain lightly.
A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with a friend of mine. We were talking and I found myself sharing a very painful experience that I went through. As I shared this personal moment of my life...I saw his eyes fill with tears as he quietly listened. I paused and an unspeakable gratitude filled my heart. I looked at him and beheld a person who cared enough to not just listen...but to feel what I had gone through. He could never know what that meant to me. Even now it makes me cry. Even now.
I keep thinking about the Savior. Reflecting on his agony and sacrifice. We don't understand the depths of that. Perhaps in this life, we never will. This, more than anything must never be forgotten. HE must never be forgotten.
I like these words; "Take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life". (Deut 4:9)
We must not forget. Ever. We can and should all strive with greater steps and determined hearts...to never ascend out of our own darkness and the darkness of others...FORGETFUL.
