I wanted to remember this evening, not because it was anything special but because our family was all home, watching a movie, and just being together. I love times like this and treasure them. I especially appreciated it after the last few days. This last week Joel shared with us that he's been struggling with some dark thoughts and depression and has been for almost the last year. Turns out, that late night phone call I got six weeks into school was a lot more serious than just regular new college homesickness. My heart was broken and hurt terribly for Joel. We cried and hugged and prayed together. The good news was that he is doing better now than he was months ago and felt a lot better after he shared this with us. He talked with Grandpa, who knows a lot about feelings like that, having experienced it himself and having counseled many people over the years, and we got a safety plan in place for any other time he starts to feel down again. There may need to be other things in place later, but we are thankful he was brave and finally told us how he was feeling. Bringing darkness into light is always healthy. I hate that he's been struggling so much and feeling so sad, but we serve a great big God who can handle heavy burdens. We're laying this one at his feet and entrusting Joel to him.
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