I struggled with depression when I was young.  I probably would’ve been diagnosed as border line manic-depressive if they routinely diagnosed those things back then.

My parents responded pretty much, “Get over it.”  Which actually worked ok in the short term.

I grew worse in college until one event I remember as a turning point.

I’d given my life to Jesus a few months before and discovered an underlying peace and joy.  Yet, I still struggled.

One summer morning I was working at my father’s machine shop taking inventory, a job I just adored. He especially saved for me.

I was standing in the shelves mindlessly counting parts.

I’d started the day feeling good when suddenly a wave of depression swept over me.  I felt numb and helpless.

I thought, “How can this be happening again?  Can I ever escape it?”

I felt powerless to stop these onslaughts and that caused me to feel even more despair.

I stopped and prayed, “God heal me of this.  Take away this pain.”

I struggled through the next hour and then the symptoms subsided. [Read more…]

I’m over at Quora today answering this question.

“A good friend, in the prime of life, suddenly contracted cancer and died.  He’d made a ton of money, retired and lived in the mountains in his dream home.

I thought, “Holy smoke! Where did that . . . .”

You can read the rest here.

Hope you enjoy it.