You probably don\u2019t know many four-year-old children with depression, but when my grandma was that age, she was depressed\u2014so depressed, in fact, she stopped eating, laid in bed, and only spoke when necessary. She should have been playing outside, but instead only stared out the window. Being adopted changed her entire world and she didn\u2019t know how to adapt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Naturally, Grammy\u2019s new parents were worried sick. One day though, Essie, a family friend, came by and, after talking with my great-grandmother, walked into Grammy\u2019s room. Grammy didn\u2019t turn over, but Essie sat on the bed anyway and began chatting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou know,\u201d she sighed, \u201cyesterday afternoon, I went out to my barn and I saw that Flora, my ewe, had had her little lamb. Remember, I told you she was going to have a baby?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
No response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Essie continued talking to Grammy\u2019s back, explaining how Flora had rejected the baby and she\u2019d found him huddled alone in a corner. This was a problem. Lambs need to eat, but Essie had to work and couldn\u2019t take care of him. Someone had to feed him or he\u2019d die. Then Essie plopped the lamb\u2019s warm, wooly body in Grammy\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Orienting ourselves to love brings us back to life. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The lamb quickly found Grammy\u2019s finger and sucked on it. Grammy looked at the lamb. The fact that something so beautiful and vulnerable needed her help reignited something inside of her. She began to laugh. After a second or two, she sat herself up in bed, and Essie passed Grammy a bottle. It was a turning point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depression is a complicated mental illness, and I\u2019m not suggesting there isn\u2019t more to it than what Grammy experienced, but this story reminds me of how we were made to live for something outside of ourselves. After Peter\u2019s denial, Jesus\u2019 instruction to him was, \u201cFeed My lambs\u201d (John 21:15). It was a turning point for him, because sharing the gospel is healing. We don\u2019t just share because people \u201cout there\u201d need to hear it, but also for our own sakes. We flounder when we get stuck inside our own heads and focus too much on the pain life throws at us. Orienting ourselves to love brings us back to life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t know what your life looks like right now, but I want to encourage you to build a life that is mission oriented. This doesn\u2019t mean you arrogantly think you\u2019ll change the world or fix people all by yourself. It means you lay down your life to share the good news with others, because that\u2019s what you were made to do. When you do, it will likely be a turning point for you as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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