Good morning…
Betty Skinner walked slowly from the rugged valley of clinical depression up toward the mountaintop of joyful oneness with God. How did she do it?
Betty took one healing step at a time. Solitude. Silence. Contemplative prayer. Eating well. Journaling thoughts. Creating art and poetry. Focusing on life’s positives. Talking honestly with others. Enjoying long walks outside learning from nature. Studying the wisdom of Christian mystics. Mentoring other Jesus-followers. Surrendering her whole being, resting in God’s care. As Kitty Crenshaw and Dr. Cathy Snapp tell us in The Hidden Life Awakened, “neuroscience began to be able to document and affirm the healing steps that Betty had intuitively taken, inspired only by trust and deep desire.” (p. xii)
Betty chose again and again to place her full trust in the God who invites us all into intimate relationship. As she stepped closer and closer to our kindhearted Creator, her desire to remain in His presence grew deeper and stronger. As Kitty, Cathy, and I shared lunch with 91 year old Betty last week, she ended our meaningful conversation with these wise words, words Cathy jotted on a drink napkin and promptly handed to me.
“Pray to intensify your desire. Stay with it. You’ll get there. Happy Birthday!”
You grew weary in your search, but you never gave up. Desire gave you renewed strength, and you did not grow weary (Isaiah 57:10, NLT).
…Sue…
