Benita R Lawrence

A Depressed Woman of God? Benita R Lawrence

Ladies, can we talk? I mean can we really talk sister to sister? Can we lay down the pressure of trying to impress each other by quoting the right scripture and eloquently talking over the hurt that life has offered us? Can we for once, leave our titles, and allow the many roles that we function in being a woman of God to rest for a moment? Can we release the weight of being us long enough to have a heart to heart conversation?Many of us have had to buy so many wonder woman costumes that the manufacturer knows us by name. We have lived our lives through the demands and expectations of others. We have painted our lips and tightened our waist cinchers for so long that if the truth be told, we literally need to introduce ourselves to those who think that they know us. Many of us struggle with accepting our own weaknesses as we tote the Word of God and strain to see ourselves within its contents. We give when we are exhausted, and repress more than should simply because we don't know how to process the emotional clutter that lurks within without possibly bringing shame to our Heavenly Father. So we cover it up as much as we can and continue pretending. So, it is no shock that we are perplexed and even ashamed when we find ourselves entangled in the claws of the symptoms of depression. "How can I be here?" "I have been saved for__years." I'm an elder, a committee chairperson." "I have a prophetic call on my life and I operate in all the gifts simultaneously." "This is not supposed to happen to me." "Am I weak?' "Do I not have faith?" "Am I a failure?" "Why can't I just snap out of this fog?' "Am I sad? Am I grieving?" "Where is God in all of this?" "Is He punishing me" "What did I do wrong?"In this book, A Depressed Woman of God? I will share a portion of my testimony. Next, we will look at the clinical definition of depression, and then consider a spiritual perspective that God has shared with me. We will conclude our journey by considering some practices to remain depression free and identify other pertinent information to help us to close the doors that can easily lead to it in women of God.