Rise and Shine
I’m a trained Mental Health and Addictions counsellor, and have friends and family who have been for some time, or are currently, battling addictions and mental health issues. One of the biggest issues that keeps people isolated throughout either, their active addiction or recovery journeys, is shame and stigma. The shame, stemming from the stigma that is attached to the idea of what addictions and mental health illness and injuries really look like. Stigma attached to the idea that you are unworthy of respect or care and concern by others, because you have an illness of some kind. Stigma that often, reduces the chances of recovery unless someone speaks up and advocates for you, or unless you hit rock bottom, and are forced to advocate for yourself. I know, I’ve been there on my mental health journey, as well. The most important thing we can do, when we’re there, is stand up and speak up so, we can overcome the stigma and get some help. To connect with others who understand the pain of the process and can help us be part of a fellowship.
Stigma is a heavy burden though. Stigma prevents people from being who they really are. Because they are afraid of not being listened to, heard or accepted by others; not because they are ashamed of who they are, but are afraid that the stigma attached to their lifestyle will keep others from accepting them, listening to them and hearing them.
The same stigma is attached to Faith. Any Faith that’s not something trendy and hip; what all the cool kids are doing. Anything that doesn’t involve meditating, using crystals, incense and essential oils, and doing yoga. But let’s examine the Christian Faith for a minute; not religion, or denominational worship, but Christianity, at the very core. What is it? Most non-Christians see us as bible thumping, sweater vest wearing, “honk if you love Jesus”, groupies. Funny thing is, since I’ve grown in my Faith and developed a proper relationship with God, I’ve started to see how completely untrue that stereotype is. We do yoga, we burn incense and we use essential oils; because the bible says to keep our temples (our body) pure and healthy. Incense is used in worship practices and is rooted in biblical practices. Essential oils are made from plants, that we are told to use, as they have been given to us by God. And, the bible mentions meditation repeatedly, as a way of quieting our minds and hearts; sitting in stillness and listening, so that we can hear God speak to us. But the stigma attached to Christianity, keeps so many people at bay that those of us who are the creatives; singers, songwriters, writers, musicians, actors, screenwriters, visual artists, alike, are forced to water down our belief systems, in order to get our message across; to what is referred to as, “witness(ing)” to others. We are forced to adapt by using different language and visual manifestations of the word of God, or God’s love for us; just to get the message out to those who, otherwise, don’t believe. Not as a way of, “Bible thumping”, as stigma would suggest we do, but as a way of sharing the message of love and hope, and of spreading light. Spreading light in the darkness; the most important thing we can do for one another right now.
I struggled for a while with the idea of watering down my faith to share a message, but we are supposed to spread the word, as much as we can; supposed to witness to others. As I started to get closer to God, myself, I started realizing how many Christian artists, and celebrities were already doing this. I started seeing things differently, and recognizing these words, and symbols and visual manifestations throughout their art, music and writing. You would be surprised how many bands you probably already listen to that are actually Christian rock bands. Or, bands and other musicians who are Christians; either young Christians who’ve hit rock bottom and recognized the need to look up, or ones who’ve always been Christians and I never realized because I wasn’t really listening rightly. Well, I am now. And, I need to tell you something. Stigma be damned; literally. I need to re-introduce myself to you.
Hi, I’m Linda and I am a Christian. Not a bible thumper, but a truth speaker. Not a “honk if you love Jesus”, driver, but a believer in faith, hope and love. Not a God salesman, but a light spreader. There, I’ve said it. I’ve walked through hell most of my life, and now I’ve finally found heaven. And, I want to share what I’ve found. If that bothers you, please look away. But just so you know, everything that you have been reading in my blog since about the, “It’s Okay not to be Okay”, post, has literally been messages from within my faith and with a Christian spin on them. I’ve used other words, so that I didn’t lose followers; because despite the fact that we say things flippantly like, “by the grace of God”, or “thank God”, without understanding their depth of meaning, so many people shy away from the word, itself.
So many people, when they see the word God or Faith, immediately assume religion and think you’re a bible thumper. They tune out at certain words. I’ve struggled hard about this for some time now, but have been in deep prayer and meditation about it. I don’t want to come across as a secret Christian, hiding behind words like; “universe”, in place of God, or other similar semantics. But at the same time, I want to get these messages across to everyone that I can. To continue to spread light in the darkness and hope to the hopeless. Which, despite that fact, that I was basically an atheist Christian – proclaiming to be a Christian but living as though God didn’t exist - when I started this blog, the message was still supposed to be about truth, faith, love and hope. It was about sharing my story of overcoming and, shining light in the darkness for others, through shared lived experiences.
I love you all and appreciate you for having followed my journey, alongside me. But to be completely and brutally honest; and I’m sorry if I offend anyone, but lately, with everything going on in the world, I’ve started spending less time writing in this blog than I have in posting in the Christian group I created on Facebook. Firstly, because I feel called to do this, and to act as a messenger to spread light amongst this group of people with whom I share a Faith in God. And, because I’ve found it easier to share and spread love and light within this small group of about 40 Christians, with whom I can be completely myself; don’t have to water down my Faith, than it is to do the same with a group of 450 people with whom I am always trying to be careful, to water down my messages. The thing is, I appreciate all of you listening and letting me scream into the void. It’s been cathartic for me and helped me find the direction in which I was meant to go. I know many of you, who’ve reached out to me, actually read these blogs and, have shared that they give you hope and shine some light in the darkness, for you, as well. That said, I would like to continue sharing but from this point forward, I’m not going to water things down anymore. I don’t want to, and I don’t think that changing the words I use, will change the message for you anyway. It will still be the same messages, as always but will just shed more, light on a dark situation and give you a better idea of the direction from whence the light came, in the first place. That the wisdom comes from something bigger than me, myself; and that there is an incredible sense of hope in knowing that!
**Note, here’s a list of a few Christian bands and musicians that are Christians, that I bet you didn’t know were Christians; invading your homes, and spreading the messages of Faith, Hope and Love, for decades now:
• U2 • Mumford and Sons • Black Sabbath • Lenny Kravitz • Kings of Leon • Reliant K • Mega Death • Evanescence • Switchfoot • The Fray • Lifehouse • Bob Dylan • August Burns Red • Skillet • The lead singer from, Blue October – former Addict, born again Christian
• And of course, for all of the ‘chick flick’ type movie fans out there, Author, Nicholas Sparks is a Christian; all of his movies have some kind of Christian message or miracle; or both.