Serving Mentally Ill Christians – Page 227

Just Fling It

A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.” –Mark 4:26-28, NIV

The insurmountable potential of a single seed! It is scattered without a whole lot of conscious effort, hundreds of seeds in a handful scattered out on the dry ground. It doesn’t get the dignity of individual effort, but is simply flung out.

I became a Christian believer partly through some indiscriminate seed flinging. I was being escorted by Temple security in Salt Lake City off the grounds. It may have been because I was shirtless and smoking, and being hammered as well. As I was being thrust through the gates, I ran into Christians who were sowing their tracts. These tracts landed on good soil. And I’m indeed thankful.

We simply do not know about any individual seed that leaves our bag. We can not predict what is going to happen. Jesus chose this particular metaphor to emphasize the supernatural nature of spiritual growth, it grows whether we sleep or stay awake. We don’t understand how things grow. A tiny, dry seed comes to life, and grows up to be something amazing.

Dropping seeds; that is it. We drop without taking responsibility for what may or may not happen next. We scatter seed without contemplating what will follow. It may grow, and it may not. The believers standing in the baking sun outside of the Mormon Temple in SLC were simply sowing seed. It fell on my heart, and I cannot tell you what happened to that seed. All I know, is it started to live, and grow and eventually was harvested.

Buy some tracts, Christian books, DVDs, CDs. Build an interesting website. Sow seed. You cannot harvest unless you sow something. You must be faithful to your part, and God is faithful to do the rest. Growing things is beyond our comprehension and ability. I cannot tell you the dynamics or the process of spiritual growth. Bible college did not have a class for that. It is imponderable and mysterious.

Be faithful, and sow. Fling the seed. Don’t mind the hot sun, or the thorns or the hungry birds. Be faithful, and fling it. Psalm 126:5-6

⁵ Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.

⁶ He who goes out weeping,
       carrying seed to sow,
       will return with songs of joy,
       carrying sheaves with him.

When You Lose [Faith]

…”calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Luke 7:19

Here we have John the Baptist locked away in Herod’s prison. We read of his wavering, but that shouldn’t alarm us. There has always been difficulties for those who follow without diluting their love for Jesus. It’s very likely that John had preconceptions about Jesus’ ministry. But that certainly doesn’t mean he was apostate or backslidden. He still believed, as he looked out through the bars.

We walk in a greater light and have surer promises that John did. And in that light we still have our difficult moments. We can falter and shake and doubt. And John only had a 100th of understanding that we have. Often we are amazed by another’s confusion and struggles, it is so clear to us that they are falling short. It is frustrating. Moses once went ballistic, beat his rod on a rock and had some choice words. His anger spilled all over him and made a mess. We read of his provocation, and miss our own faults, sins and weaknesses.

We need to understand the depth of our own depravity. There are those who have proceeded us, who have had their moments of despondency and doubt. We see them, as it were, from a distance and criticize and challenge what we see. Noah’s drunkenness and Lot’s vacillation. The flakiness of Samson, Peter’s denial and Mark’s timidity, and much more.

Today, let us resolve to be gentle with each other. “For we all stumble in many ways”, James 3:2.

Combat’s Hidden Toll: 1 in 10 Soldiers Report Mental Health Problems

Soldiers Report PTSD Symptoms and Other Mental Health Problems

By KIM CAROLLO
ABCNews Medical Unit

June 9, 2010

Even though he’s retired from active military duty, CSM Samuel Rhodes still suffers from deep emotional wounds.

“I had to take this afternoon off from work today because of anxiety,” he said. “And sometimes, if I’m going through a really tough time, I think about suicide.”

He spent nearly 30 years in the Army and recently spent 30 straight months deployed in Iraq where he, like many soldiers, witnessed some of the horrors of war.

“In April 2005, it started to eat me up because I started losing one soldier after another,” Rhodes said. “We lost 37 soldiers that were in my unit.”

He was in charge of the brigade of 37 soldiers, and as time wore on, the loss of life wore him down.

“In April 2007, it came full circle. I considered suicide as an option. I felt guilty about losing those soldiers, even though I had no control over it,” he said.

“And I was sleepwalking. I had to tie myself to my cot to prevent it,” he added.

Later, during his 24th month in Iraq, he was found unconscious, and doctors diagnosed him with exhaustion. At that time, the combat stress doctor told him he was also suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“He started explaining it to me, and I realized he was right,” Rhodes said.

And according to a new study conducted by researchers at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Rhodes’ mental health problems are common among soldiers returning from Iraq.

Between 2004 and 2007, researchers gave out anonymous surveys to four active duty brigade combat teams and two National Guard combat team three months and 12 months after deployment. The surveys screened soldiers for PTSD, depression, alcohol misuse and aggressive behavior and asked them to report whether these problems impacted their ability to get along with others, take care of things at home or perform their job duties.”A high number of those that had symptoms of PTSD and depression also reported some aspect of impairment,” said Jeffrey L. Thomas, one of the study’s co-authors. “The range was about 9 to 14 percent.” Depression rates ranged from 5 percent to 8.5 percent.

But by using a less stringent definition of PTSD, they found between 20 and 30 percent of soldiers showed symptoms of PTSD, while they found between 11.5 to 16 percent of them were depressed.

Full article, please go to: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/10-soldiers-fought-iraq-mentally-ill/story?id=10850315&page=2