by Rev. Sarah Lund, Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice for the United Church of Christ
Where does your hope come from? The psalmist says, “For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from God” (Psalm 62:5). But what if there’s no time to wait? And what if waiting in silence is unbearably lonely? For people living with disabilities and mental health experiences such as depression and anxiety, hope can feel far away. If hope is gone, does that mean God is gone, too?
Here’s what we need to know: depression is like a great big pink school eraser of hope. Imagine a piece of lined paper where all of your hopes and dreams are written down in pencil. Depression comes in with its big eraser and says it’s all wrong. Depression says you are not good enough. Depression says you don’t deserve any of the good stuff. Then, depression gets to work erasing everything you hoped and dreamed about. All you have left is a messy piece of paper with smudged eraser marks and maybe a small tear in the page where the eraser went a little too hard.
Where does hope come from when it has been erased by depression? When my hope is gone, I need the support of others. I need someone else to remind me that depression erased my hope, but hope can and will return. Hope has been returned to me with the help of family, friends, therapists, spiritual directors, and mentors. I believe God works through the people in my life to help renew my hope.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month and September 8th is known as “988 Day,” a time to share hope through this life-saving 24/7 text and call lifeline. 988 is a free and confidential resource to help you when your hope is lost. 988 Day is also the same day my new book releases, (co-written with UCC Indiana-Kentucky Conference Minister, the Rev. Dr. Chad Abbott), Blessed Hope: 90 Daily Devotionals for Mental Health and Faith. We wrote this book together as a reminder of our need for one another, as people of faith, in our search for God and a more hopeful tomorrow.
I suggest a friendly amendment to the Psalmist resolution to seek God alone and in silence. Instead, let’s seek God together and break the silence about the ways our lives are touched by depression. We are not alone. Hope will come again. It’s a text to 988 and just a conversation away.
