God's Love Comes to Life Through Doug Bisbee & Mental Health

What a joy to welcome back former pastor and associate with the bishop Doug Bisbee to Christ the King Wednesday night.  Although in a different capacity, as a certified counselor at Samaritan Counseling, he shared about the importance of mental health with our confirmation students, their families and our community.  Our mental health is very important.  1 in 4 people are affected with issues attributed to mental health.  Whether it is trauma we experience or something we cannot control, seeking help is normal and helpful.  The example shared was, if you break a bone, who do you go to?  You would go to a doctor for help.  If you or someone you know is having difficulty with mental health, you help them find a certified counselor.
Mental health can be a pretty serious subject, but in typical Doug style he broke down large concepts so that we could understand.  All people have their ups and downs.  Doug helped us to understand and even laugh!  God has put us here to help one another.  On Wednesday night we saw God’s love’s evident through the presentation and in our youth, who asked some pretty insightful questions about how to deal with life and even situations around suicide.
Important lessons learned is that God is with us no matter what.  God provides other people in our midst to help us.  Doug also taught us the 4x4x4 method for breathing.  Breath in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and exhale for 4 seconds.  Repeat this 4-7 times and you should feel a calmness come over you.  Exercise such as walking, lifting weights, hitting a punching bag also help us to release tension and stress by readying us for our daily challenges.  Talking with trusted people and seeking certified counselors are always good to help us gain perspective when we don’t have answers.
God’s love came to life and filled the room in our time together.  I thank God for people like Doug and the many people at Samaritan Counseling who can walk with people to help them find their way.  If you are having challenges in your life or need someone to listen.  Pastor Dara and I are here for you and we can help guide and direct you to people in our community who can help.  May you see God’s love come to life in your day.
God’s blessings and peace,
Pastor Nate