PEACE
Posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 by oneP3 | (0) Comments
This is from Creating a Safe Place: Christians Healing from the Hurt of Dysfunctional Families by Curt Grayson and Jan Johnson
”...As masters of self-condemnation, we use Bible verses to beat ourselves over the head. Almost any passage can make us feel guilty. Jan used to feel guilty when she read the preceding passage in Philippians. ’”Rejoicing in the Lord” was an achievement far beyond me. This was “advanced Christianity,” reserved for special people, and I was a second-class Christian. I was hopeless. Depression had hovered over me my entire life, and I didn’t think I could ever “rejoice in the Lord always.” ‘I was so desperate for peace that I turned verse 6 and 7 into a spiritual formula: Step 1: Work hard at rejoicing. Step 2: Pray. Step 3: Wait for peace to land in my lap. ‘It was like using a facial – spread it on, let it dry for ten minutes, wash it off, and you have perfect skin. It sounds silly that I did that, but it’s the most normal thing in the world for a depressed ACDF (Adult Child of a Dysfunctional Family). We’re always looking for new formulas; we read all the latest self-help books. ‘As I ventilated my hurt and anger, the daily depression lifted. I still don’t rejoice in the Lord always, but I’ve tasted joyfulness. God’s joy and peace creep up on me more and more, and replace the inner chaos. From talking with more mature Christians, I see that rejoicing in the Lord is tough even for them. Once again, I was judging myself without mercy. ‘I’ve quit using Scripture as a spiritual hickory switch to beat myself up with. It’s much easier to grow in God, to rest in his peace, when I’m not clamoring so much for it.’ “In recovery, we trust God to work in our lives instead of feeling driven to achieve what we think of as spiritual success.”