HOW CAN YOU BETTER MANAGE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS?

[Agnes B. Levine]

This is a question that requires some soul searching. I speak about this all the time in one form or another as I discuss my book, "Cooling Well Water: A Collection of Work By An African-American Bipolar Woman."

When we are challenged with an untreated chemical imbalance in the brain, we do not have clarity. That chemical imbalance does not mean we are forever cut off from God. I believed that even more when I became diagnosed with the brain disorder known as Bipolar. Prior to my nervous breakdown which brought on the diagnosis, I was already feeling abandoned by God. I had already fallen into the self-anger mode because I could not change the awful circumstances in my life: abusive marriage, laid-off, poverty, and daily frustrations that I could not "pull myself together." There were three or four times a day I would cry and that seemed to fuel my anger when the crying periods were over. There was nobody I could reach out to; or so I believed.

During that experience, my mind was too fogged and cloudy to be able to reason. It was only religious that I attended church and went through all the routines. My spirit was not able to connect to the Word and I did not even try. When I began my recovery program, I began to seek out God and His instructions on living life. (1 Jos. 8)(NIV) Eventually, I got it that I had left God and not the other way around.

That meant that in order to do my spiritual work, I needed to have clarity on what I wanted my relationship with God to be. If I remained in the chaos of the brain disorder by not taking medications and arguing with folks all day and crying all night, my management of my relationship with God was to keep Him at a distance. Living without medications with my diagnosis did not end the chaos even though I believed after a few months that I was healed and not understanding that there is no cure for Bipolar. This is because God is peace and anything that causes fear is not from God. I had no peace and I was afraid of life down to contemplating ending my life. He was at a distance.

When I began coping and managing my mental condition, I began to have more days of clarity in which to develop my relationship with God. As I recovered from the illness (there is no cure) and my moods began to stabilize, I could better manage my relationship with God by making Him and His teachings first in my life. That was the beginning of a love affair that is never ending. God guided me out of the darkness and showed me the light. I began to have absolute trust that He would never forsake me. (1 Jos. 5 (NIV)) This was important to recovering from an "episode" associated with Bipolar. During the early recovery days, fear is magnified. The process between having an episode and getting your chemicals balanced again is like crossing the Jordan River. Therefore, you must be very strong in faith.

I transformed my mind to listen to His wisdom and be obedient. His wisdom is to use the resources He provided to fulfill His purpose for me. I had to surrender my will to His, too. (Mt. 6:10)(NIV). That was as challenging itself as with others, but a little moreso because of the stigmas I faced. We have to be like a rock of iron when others insult and humiliate us and it is a challenge that can be met with the Word of God.

As I grew closer to God, I also became stronger as an individual and able to create a quality of life and beat the odds given when I was first diagnosed with Bipolar in 1993. That is my deliverance. Through my journey, others can see the face of God and that makes me over-joyed and keeps my spirit leaping.

So, how does one manage a relationship with God with a mental illness such as Bipolar ?

With clarity and obdience. How do you keep clarity in your relationship with God?

This inspirational Collection of Work tells my story of becoming diagnosed with Bipolar and learning to cope and manage the brain disorder to live a life of purpose, peace, and happiness. Do you know someone with Bipolar? Would you believe that when I became diagnosed with Bipolar, I believed God was gone out of my life forever? I practiced religion, but I was somehow of the belief that that was as far as my relationship with God would go. Have you ever been diagnosed with an illness and felt cut off from God so you figured you were all on your own? I reveal those feelings as I journeyed back to God to emerge a true child of God.

My journey is revealed in this anointed 182 page book. It will inspire you and empower you to be the child God intended for you to be. That role may be to assist someone with a mental condition or to break from the mental strongholds of that mental condition and become fruitful.

"Cooling Well Water: A Collection of Work By An African-American Bipolar Woman" (ISBN 13 978-0-9754612-0-4) includes a handy list of resources for your personal journey to wellness. 1 Corinthians 12:26 informs us that "If one part of the body suffers, every part suffers."

If we know someone suffers with Bipolar and we do nothing, then we all suffer. The wisdom of 1 Corinthian 12:26 (NIV) goes further to inform us that "If one part of the body is honored, then every part rejoices with it."

"Cooling Well Water: A Collection of Work By An African-American Bipolar Woman" (ISBN 13 978-0-9754612-0-4 provides the instructions to enable us all to rejoice!

Rjoice! For this is the day the Lord has made!


Agnes B. Levine
Founder/President, Levine-Oliver Publisher
www.levineoliverpublisher.com,
Author of: "Cooling Well Water: A Collection of Work By An
African-American Bipolar Woman" ISBN 13 978-0-9754612-0-4
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