I’ve been a ward of the state my whole life…

Here pastor, it’s all I can giver now…

I hadn’t seen my friend in months. I was hoping he was still alive..no one had seen him. He has had several bought of mental incidences that have placed him in facilities as an inpatient. I had been praying for this to be the case… and it was…

Where ya been? I’m so glad to see you!
I’ve been out of commission…

(that’s a way of him saying I had another episode and was in a facility getting help)

He joined us with his typical zeal for Jesus. He loves God deeply, so deeply in fact that nothing has been able to kill it yet. As we were wrapping up the day I noticed him sitting on the steps with his head in his hands. I had left him alone thinking he was in prayer but when he lifted his eyes they were rimmed with tears about to release.

Pastor, there are no medications in heaven, right? You don’t understand, I’ve been a ward of the state my whole life. It’s really hard and I’m tired….

One of our regular ladies who battles her own demons (literally) kept telling him to take his thoughts captive and rebuke the lies and speak Scripture into his mind…which is true… but at that moment my friend simply need to hear that his life does suck compared to others and that his pain and frustrations is real… and that on The New Earth he will not be a ward of the state, but will be seated at The Table with Jesus…

God sees our pain and keeps our tears in a bottle. So I reminded him…

our lives are hard, harder than others. Some of us are asked to show others how to hang on and endure in this world. Hang on. Hang on. Hang on. We are here with you.

These are my people whom I love, whom God loves all the more.