If you struggle with a mental illness, you have undoubtedly heard the adage, "Don't let your illness define you!" I'd like to explore what this means, and think about how it applies to Christians.
Let's begin by considering a physical impairment such as paralysis. For example, a person might be wheelchair-bound and constrained in ways that the rest of us can only imagine. To be defined by this illness is to make it one's own very identity. The person might say, "I am disabled," rather than, "I am a person that has a physical impairment." Many folks love to watch the Olympics every other year. I do too. But I much rather enjoy the Paralympics that follow on the heels of the Olympic games. You will see one Paralympian after another excelling, refusing to be defined by their limitations. Instead, they exude determination and joy in what they are able to accomplish. (If you haven't watched the Paralympic games, check out wheelchair rugby in the next summer Paralympics. What a blast!)
So how do you perceive yourself? Is your identity wrapped up in your mental illness? Or do you see yourself as a person gifted (yes, gifted!) with a mental condition? I say gifted because of what I read in Psalm 139:14, "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." There are no exceptions to what David says. Each of us is fearfully made by God. This extends even to our diagnoses. And in those diagnoses, we can choose not to be defined by our bodies (or brains!) and instead give glory to our Maker.
I'd like to point out two "heroes of the faith," one historical and one present time. The first is the apostle Paul. Toward the end of his life, Paul suffered what he referred to as his "thorn in the flesh." (2 Corinthians 12:7) We don't know precisely what this thorn was, but there is a clue in the closing chapter of his letter to the Galatians. He writes (verse 11), "See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand." This could have been impairment of his writing hand. It could also have meant loss of eyesight. But either way, the apostle kept on "writing." Galatians is deemed to be one of the earliest of his letters. In six of his 13 epistles there is evidence of his employing the hands of a scribe to write the main body of the epistle. Rather than being defined by his limitation, he persevered. Can you imagine the New Testament without those books?
My present time hero is Joni Eareckson Tada. When she was a teen she suffered a diving accident that left her crippled from the shoulders down. But though a tetraplegic, she has had a life-long ministry, extending far beyond her "Joni and Friends" outreach to those with physical disabilities. What a testimony she has had, even to the present date. (She is now 73!) Joni (pronounced Johnny) refused to let her disability define her, and in so doing she has glorified God.
So, how are you defined? What is your "define-ment?" Do folks know you as "the bipolar one," or "the depressed one," or "the anxious one?" Or do they see you as a special person whose diagnosis is just a part of all the things, mostly amazing things, that make you you?
Here's for letting our God define us!
Blessings!
The Christian Bipole
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