One
of my childhood favorites, Robin Williams, took his own life. A life that
brought joy to most of us at some point, could never seem keep that joy alive
for himself.
Depression
induced suicide was the lonely culprit and once again we were shockingly
reminded of its powerful stronghold on the life it consumes.
I
grew up watching this manic man. More than once my friends and I would try and imitate
his funny voices and make our own “crazy” Robin Williams like recordings on
tape. He just cracked me up. I will never forget his standup routine in the
early 80s. My buddy Johnny and I would sneak into his parents living room and
pull out that video tape “for adults only” and laugh so hard we were both in
tears.
Good Morning
Vietnam, Ms. Doubtfire, Mork N Mindy, Cadillac Man, Jumanji, Flubber, Dead
Poets Society, Patch Adams…I could go on.
He
was pure greatness.
I
have to admit as a Christian that there are a handful of questions in life I
can’t pin a neat little scripture verse to or really explain well at all. And
as a Believer if you say you don’t have any…well, you’re just not being real or
honest with yourself.
There
are many things about this life we just don’t get and this illness is one of
them.
Many
theologians and those with bigger minds than mine do all they can to write
books, preach sermons or talk on radio shows trying provide answers that make
sense to these questions. But most of the time they fall short in explaining
anything that makes sense to me and leave me back at where I started...
…asking,
“Why?”
I
don’t personally struggle with depression. Oddly enough, I actually like that
feeling of being alone in a crowd – sometimes and only for a brief moment. Sure
I have moments of being down and depressed...but not full-blow, life
comes-to-a-stop depression.
But
I know many of you do. And many of you love and know Jesus too.
Prayer
helps some. Scripture helps some. Friends help here and there. Family has it
place. Counseling gives you some hope at times. Certain prescription drugs
provide relief and for many, abusive substances are used to try and mask the pain
for a few minutes at a time.
No
matter what is tried, for many, however, that oppressive grip of overwhelming
sadness and depression merely comes back in full swing and the cycle starts all
over. You can’t move. You don’t feel. You don’t care and worse of all, you can’t
explain why.
For
Robin Williams this was apparently the deadly thorn in his life.
I
don’t have the answer to the mystery of depression. I studied it in school, got
a Master’s in Psychology from Baylor and read plenty about it. Yet, I still don’t
get it.
I
just have to solely rest on my faith and the words of Paul that tell me “then
we shall see clearly” as God does and that one day I will see and understand.
Evil has its power and it many cases, try as we might, it simply won’t let go.
But
in the end, God gets victory, and this too shall be cast into the hell whence
it came.
That’s
all I know.
“For now we see
through a glass, darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then
shall I know, even as also I am known.” I Corinthians 13:12
© 2014, J. Brady
"I say it how I see it and I make no bones about
it."
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