Tag Archives: battle

Blog Posts, Poetry

Boys at War… a Welcome Home Poem

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I wrote this poem in 2003. So many U.S. Soldiers, both men and women, were leaving for Iraq, to fight in a war while the rest of us lived our lives in comfort and peace. My friend’s son was one of the soldiers who fought in Iraq. I presented her with a copy of this poem to encourage her and give her hope. I prayed with her, and together we asked God to bring her son safely back home. God heard our prayers, and every Memorial Day is a sweet reminder of God’s great mercy. But many soldiers were not as fortunate.  Many died, and many came back with severe physical injuries, and emotional injuries too. We don’t always understand God’s plan, but the silver lining is that God is good, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28 New International Version).

That same year in 2003, I had the honor of my poem being chosen for a reading at our small town’s memorial service which took place under the gazebo in Rose Hill Park. This poem is called “Boys at War,” as a tribute to the men who have gone before us, when only boys were soldiers heading off to fight in a war. But this poem is still meant to honor ALL those who have gone to war on behalf of our country, both men and women, who have sacrificed their lives for the rest of us. This is for the soldiers who have made it home, and the soldiers who have not. It is to thank you, because we understand, that freedom is not free.

Boys at War 

Say a prayer, for our boys are at war.
What in the world are they fighting for?

Just that… our world… to keep it free.
They fight for you. They fight for me.

They risk their lives to save our own.
They’re in our hearts; they’re not alone.

God bless our boys, and let them know,​
America’s proud and loves them so.

Protect their heads down to their feet.
So they’ll come marching down our street

To flags and shouts of, “Welcome Home!”
Where freedom rings, so they can roam.  

And for the boys who don’t return,
Our tears will fall, our hearts will yearn.

Dear Lord, we know that some will die,
And they’ll be welcomed in the sky.

Comfort loved ones filled with sorrow.
Thank you, God, for our tomorrow.

When we’ve lived past 97,
We’ll bring flags with us to Heaven,

Smiling at each soldier’s face,
We’ll rejoice, and then embrace.

At that parade with lots of noise,
We’ll all yell thanks to God’s Brave Boys!

© 2003 by Angela Royse Pelleman

No matter what happens here on Earth, soldiers and their loved ones who receive Jesus, will one day be reunited in Heaven! 

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’ ” (Rev. 21:24).

Blog Posts

Pretty Ponies? A Mother’s “Short Tale”

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Yesterday, my daughter asked if she could give one of her ponies a hair cut. We had given a trim to one of her My Little Pony pets before, so I agreed. I reminded her that the pony’s hair couldn’t grow back, and gave her a small pair of scissors, and a piece of cardstick to set underneath.

My daughter returned to ask if she could give another pony a hair cut. “I guess so,” I agreed, while casually mentioning that if she later decided to sell some of her ponies at a yard sale, the other little girls might be looking for long manes and tails. She nodded her head, and then we both shrugged. Who cared about a yard sale? They were her ponies now, and she had a bunch of them. She skipped off to take them to the pony salon; and snip, clip, and shampoo their colorful locks into new hairdos.

After about a half an hour, my normally cheery, confident little girl came into my room, downcast. “What’s wrong, little one?” I asked.

She lowered her head, and her voice slightly trembled, “I don’t think I want to give my ponies a hair cut anymore.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because…”

“How many ponies got hair cuts?”

“About eight…”

“Ohhhh!” I laughed; “Well that’s a lot of ponies. But that’s okay, because you have a lot of ponies. But that’s probably enough ponies getting haircuts.”

But I knew. I could feel the guilt, anxiety, and self-condemnation clinging to her; because it was all too familiar. I was immediately brought back to my childhood; where everything I did was wrong, every mistake was shameful, and no bad choices were forgiven.

NOT MY GIRL, DEVIL! NOT MY GIRL!

“Wait!” I grabbed her skinny little self and folded her into a hug. “Look at me,” I coaxed. She looked up with sad eyes. Her huge, teary eyes displayed a rainbow of colors; just like her little ponies. “Did you have fun?” I asked. Her head nodded up and down. “Do you like their haircuts?” She nodded yes, again. “Then that’s all that matters, Honey!”

I pulled her close into me, and said “Let’s pray…” But she was already bowing her little head, because she knows Jesus brings comfort when Mommy prays. My hands started at the top of her own long, curly, tangled mane. As I prayed over her soft, sweet head; I combed my fingers all the way down to the bottom of her hair, which ended at her waist.

I renounced guilt, anxiety, and self-condemnations for my daughter, in Jesus’ name. I told the devil to go “sit on a tack” in the name of Jesus, and that he was not allowed to steal her joy. I thanked God for my beautiful daughter and her endlessly creative imagination, along with the ability to try new, exciting things. I asked God to fill my daughter with His Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus. I asked God to replace her sadness with  joy and peace.  I thanked God for my little girl and her love for animals, including ponies. I asked God to bless her future and all that it entails! 

After praying, I gave her a kiss, and she ran off to play. It was GONE! The sadness, the worry, the doubt… it was all GONE! That’s because I have the power and authority in Jesus Christ, to intervene on behalf of my daughter, and tell the devil to get lost. I can only do this because of who I am in Christ, and my daughter knows she has this same power and authority within her too.

The situation had not changed. The hair did not miraculously grow back.  But what did change, was the lies. The lies weren’t there anymore. They had been prayed away in the name of Jesus. The devil had lied to my daughter, and tried to ruin her day, by deceiving her, and stealing her joy. I was not fooled by his tactics. We had been here before when the devil had lied to her about her artwork mistakes.

NOT MY GIRL, DEVIL! NOT MY GIRL!

When our children are struggling with a  spiritual attack, the silver lining is that we parents who battle for our children, are already promised a victory! We don’t have to play or put up with the devil’s games; but we must pray, and fight back in the name of Jesus! There’s a battle for our children’s spiritual well being; so saddle up, and giddy up! The Bible says we win the race!

“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us”  (Phil. 3:14 New Living Translation).

Make your decisions, and ride your race without fear! 

Blog Posts

The Family that Prays Together…

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Yesterday marked one week into my recovery from back surgery. God announced His goodness by giving me a beautiful, sunny spring day to enjoy! I was so happy and excited! My twin young men cleaned off the umbrella table, and untied the chairs which had been stored for the winter, hoisting them effortlessly onto the back deck, so I could sit and breathe in the fresh, clean air. My daughter was suddenly more interested in her school books, which were filled with clocks, verbs, and Venn diagrams. She cheerfully grabbed her pencil, because we were going to have school outside for the day. I gazed at the breathtaking view of our backyard, thanking God as I soaked in the blooms on the pear and cherry trees. My favorite was the brilliant cobalt of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which will be barely visible when the trees become dressed in their shiny, green summer leaves. 

What a lovely day for my daughter to play on her swing set, and jump on the trampoline. It was ideal for my husband and me, as we walked down the driveway, for my first outdoor excursion since the surgery. Perfection! NOT! … Because Christian families who pretend that everything is perfect and merry all the time are… well, quite frankly… lying. For suddenly there was strife and squabbling, unexpectedly, out of the beautiful deep blue. There was anger, pride, rudeness, and a black cloud where the sun had been shining only moments before. And then from Mom (yeah, that would be me) there were some not-very-nice-words,  and no… not the tears! There can not be tears from Mom; she never cries in front of anybody! She learned it years ago… people don’t care about you… so do not let them see your tears! For if you do, ferocious wolves will rip you to pieces! But suddenly I didn’t care that they saw the tears. I knew I was hurting inside and out; and I needed to cry, even though the tears made me vulnerable to… (oh no!)… REJECTION!  Brave, courageous, strong Mom, had succumbed to a sobbing, inconsolable mess of… tears. 

But this time, I recognized the attack for what it was… a spirit of strife. I also recognized the lies: The day was NOT ruined, my family was NOT going to let me deal with this alone, this was NOT my family from childhood; so my precious family here at home was NOT going to make fun of me or be mean to me for crying, and the devil was NOT going to ruin this day for my family or me! I pondered the truths: This is my family who supports, encourages, prays for; and loves me unconditionally. This is my family who helps me run my blog: proofs and edits my drafts, rescues my computer crashes, updates my computer, gives me ideas, creates special images, poses for my photos, and patiently gives me tons of time… while I write my blog! This is my family, and they support my ministry, as I do what I love! They are on board with me, and I am on board with them! We are in it together! 

We gathered for an amazing dinner; one of my all-time favorites; chicken tacos and chocolate chip cookies, which had thoughtfully been prepared for us by my sweet friend, Rita. We told the devil to “Get out of our home, and off of our property, in the name of Jesus.” You see,  even my little girl has the power and authority to tell the devil to get lost. Why? Because we are God’s children and we have… privileges! 

Because we recognized the evil spirits, which had come to do battle on the land God gave us, we were prepared to fight. We repented of our sinful nature, asked God and family members to forgive us, and repaired some issues which needed to be dealt with, so that our bond will remain unbroken, and more closely knit than ever. We are a family unit, which God has put together for a reason, a purpose, and His calling. We cannot afford to ignore the fact that there is a spiritual battle each and every day, with the intention of destroying each one of us, and ripping our precious family apart. That old saying; “The family that prays together, stays together,” is true! It’s our family… and it can be your family too! We are a force to be reckoned with, a bond which is to remain unbroken, because God is our Father, and we are His children. 

“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate” (Mark 10:9 New International Version). This verse applies to marriage, but it applies to our children too. Because, when it comes time for them to leave us and create their own families, we will also be grateful for the ones God has chosen to be a part of our lives, and we will fight for them too. Hence, our strength in numbers will be even greater, and there will be even more love to go around! 

Pretending everything is perfect isn’t doing anybody any favors. But knowing who is at the center of your family, and keeping Him there… IS! The rest of the day was filled with the sweetness of apologies, forgiveness, relief, comfort, laughter, laughs, cuddles, and hugs! We also repaired something that had broken down in our family… a way of communication which was, in actuality, hurting everyone. But it wasn’t something that could just simply repair itself. It is something that requires the never-ending mercy, grace, forgiveness; and unconditional love of Jesus Christ; who is alway invited to our table, and welcome in our home. For we are children of God! 

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God–children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13).


#knowyourrights  #eliminatestrife #childrenofGod #Jesusbemycenter

Blog posts directly related to this series on surgery and healing:

When You’re Sick, God Shows Up… Because He’s Already There!

The Unexpected Joy of Rest

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Blog Posts

10 Questions for Christians Marching for Causes (Series: Social Media Sadness, Badness, and Madness) 

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Who’s right? Who’s wrong? As a Christian, how do you know which causes to support, or if you should participate at all? So many people are going in so many different directions, including our brothers and sisters in Christ. There are genuine believers, wandering believers, young believers, old believers, sincere believers, rebellious believers, passionate believers, laid-back believers, well-intended believers, entitled believers, people who falsely believe that they are believers, dangerously lukewarm believers, evil people pretending to be believers, and lost non-believers. These people are all loved by God, but they are not all Christians, just because they claim to be so.

A genuine Christian believer is one who has received Jesus Christ, and has a relationship with him. Many genuine, yet imperfect, Christian believers are living in confusion, conflict, and chaos because we listen to lies. If we do not engage in prayer, bible reading, and the pursuit of Jesus, we become more susceptible to being deceived, just as a non-Christian does. Unengaged Christians still have salvation, protection, rights, and authority in Christ, but they are living as if they do not. They cause confusion among their brothers and sisters in Christ, who seek to obey God and live by His Laws. With some claiming to be Christians, yet not living out a Christian lifestyle, it’s easy to see why people are led to march down so many false paths in the name of “Christianity.” Upon closer inspection, it’s not so difficult to find out why we are not all on the same page. The only pages that will truly unite believers, are those in the Bible.

As Christians, we have an innate desire to share truth, and fight for just causes. After all, we are fighting a spiritual battle every day. Most causes have political ties, with both liberal and religious undertones. We are living at a time where corruption is around every corner, with our country split right down the middle on whether we should respect and follow the godly laws upon which America was founded. Christians need to make sure we are not trying to “create our own truth.” For God IS Truth, and Only HIS truth is true. We must place our own hopes, dreams, and fears, into God’s hands, while trusting Him to care for them. We should then ask The Holy Spirit to speak truth to our hearts about the causes which ignite passion in our hearts. Then we must exercise wisdom and discernment, before marching forward.

There are many wonderful causes, and we are proud to participate in movements which could bring important changes for our country. But when a cause gets elevated over and above God’s truth, or attempts to replace God’s authority, we are definitely marching to the beat of the wrong drummer. Even the devil masquerades as an angel of light. Satan will deceitfully lead Christians down a path of distraction, danger, and eventually destruction if we do not keep our focus on God. Does your cause line up with scripture, or does it deceive you into believing your cause is the exception to God’s Laws? “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5 New International Version).

Ten questions, Christians can ask ourselves, when deciding whether or not to get involved with a cause:

Does your cause…

1.  …Lead others towards God’s commandments and laws, or draw them away from God’s safety and protection?

2.  …Honor and respect God, or pay homage to your own selfish wants and desires?

3.   …Promote a peaceful bible-based message centering on goodness, nobility, and purity, or a false religion stirring up evil, chaos, and vulgarity? 

4.  …Spread Christ’s good news of hope, truth, and love, or ungodly shouts of anger, hopelessness, and hate?

 5.  …Involve prayer and possibly fasting, or involve impulsive acts based on flaring tempers and quickly-changing emotions?

 6.  …Come about after seeking God’s wisdom and discernment, or after being persuaded by the media, and opinions of others?

 7.  …Stem from a solid foundation on biblical truths, or from getting caught up in passing trends and fads? 

8.  …Stem from a passion to follow Jesus, or from a desire to further the agenda for separation of church and state?

 9.  …Come backed with proof and prophecy from the scriptures, or from worldly influence and ideals?

10.  …Give you peace that you are doing God’s will by following Him and listening to His voice, or leave you with the unsettling, smug satisfaction of using your own voice, while leaving God and Jesus out of the picture?

Christians who stand, march, and fight for causes which do not align with God’s Holy Laws, are hurting themselves and others. In a world drowning in deceit, there will be times that Christians with good reasons and well-meaning intentions, will support and participate in causes without realizing the evil motives of the enemy moving underneath. When a Christian discovers that the cause does not please God, he or she will experience conviction, seek forgiveness, and choose a different path. Christians need to understand that our emotions will deceive us; we can’t trust in a cause just because it makes us feel good. We need to ask Jesus to lead us to the truth, which will bring us peace. A cause without God in the middle, is quite simply, a lost cause!

The Silver Lining is God knows the hearts of His children. God knows whether we are truly seeking Him, or whether we are willfully engaging in the sins of stubbornness, rebellion, and pride. But God can use everything for our growth and His glory! Our job is to view situations with discernment and call out the sin, without judging our brothers and sisters in Christ, whom we are called to love. We can disagree with others, but demeaning fellow believers with threats, insults, name-calling and other forms of abuse does not display the character of Christ. Instead, we should pray for each other to grow, and in humility, acknowledge and understand that we all come from different walks of life.“Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you” (Jas. 4:11 New Living Translation).

The most important question is: Are we willing to walk, march, and run for GOD’s cause…in order to grow the Kingdom of Jesus Christ? No cause is more worthy of our valuable time and energy. Eternal lives depend on us! There will be many times when people oppose, fight, and insult us as Christians for sharing the truth. We will be judged, as others seek to take over, hoping to drown out the message of righteousness in Jesus Christ. God has revealed in the scriptures, that our compassionate, truth-filled words will fall on deaf ears. The spiritually blind cannot see what the eyes of the spiritually discerning can see. People cannot receive truth until they elevate God above their own agenda and causes. But God promises us victory in Jesus! People can march for their causes, but the battle has already been won for us. The victory is ours, and our freedom is in Christ Jesus!

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (1 Cor. 15:57 English Standard Version)

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“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
(Phil. 4:4-8 NIV)

Blog Posts

Soldier On!

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It’s an emotional and crucial time in America. I hope you will join me for my upcoming blog post, “God is Sovereign…He’s in Control.” God was already leading me to write about His Sovereignty, even before the election took place. It is my prayer that God will continue to use me as an instrument, to bring you: hope, encouragement, and comfort through Jesus Christ. I pray God will give us a desire to unite with our brothers and sisters in Christ, by providing us with reminders of His biblically proclaimed promises: God promises to watch over His children and protect them at all times. He does not abandon His people. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you’ ” (Deut. 31:6  New International Version).

I am sharing a link to last year’s Veterans Day post, Thank a Vet…Pray on Veterans Day. I’m so grateful to each and every veteran who has served our great country of America. I believe that writing about how God chooses a king, and about how God is sovereign, is the best way for me to show gratitude and honor to our veterans on Veterans Day. Our soldiers and forefathers have fought hard, and sacrificed much, in order for us to live in a country founded on God’s laws. America is a country worth fighting for! It still remains a Republic which “stands one Nation, under God!”

As Christians we must continue to do battle in Christ Jesus, knowing we are soldiers in God’s Army. We should fight without sinning, recruit with honestly, and our battle cry should be love. Our mission should be one, and the same; to introduce Jesus to people who don’t know him; and to share God’s love with a hurting nation of broken people who need hope and healing in Christ. As Christian soldiers, we must believe in God, and trust that He can make good out of anything and everything we do in His name! 

Soldier on in your search for The Truth, pursue Jesus, and “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 

1 Peter 4:8 New International Version

 “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” 2 Tim. 2: 3 

“Onward Christian Soldiers”
19th Century Hymn

Onward Christian soldiers

Marching as to war 

With the cross of Jesus

Going on before

Christ the royal master 

Leads against the foe

Forward into battle

See His banners go

Refrain:

Onward Christian soldiers

Marching off to war

With the cross of Jesus

Going on before.   Amen.

-Written by Sabine Baring-Gould, 1865
-Music by Arthur Sullivan, 1871

    
  
Thank a Vet…Pray on Veterans Day 

Butterfly Blips

Rejected? Expected!

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Are you being shunned for following Jesus, while others just pretend to be Christians? It’s better to stand out because you’re living in God’s truth, than to belong to a crowd of people who listen to, believe in, and live in lies. But don’t be surprised if you wrestle with REJECTION. This spirit is a big one, but it isn’t too big for Jesus to battle! My series on rejection is on its way, filled with scripture and spiritual advice on how to deal with it. Jesus knows all about being rejected by family, friends, and the whole world! But Jesus overcame it ALL! When you’re washed in the blood of the lamb, you will battle rejection, and WIN! God’s hopeful children can come to Him and find the opposite of rejection. Through His Son, Jesus, Christians will find healing, comfort, acceptance, joy, and freedom! Subscribe to The Silver Lining so you don’t miss the series of posts on rejection. To find related posts, scroll down and find “Topics.”  Click on the keyword rejection. You can also type in any word as a tag search. 

Invite your friends to ‘The Silver Lining’ Facebook page! There you will find updates, encouraging verses, giveaways, inspiration, current posts, and suggested blog posts you may have missed. It’s all about Jesus and how he can change your life for the better, no matter what storm you are weathering! 💙 Trust in God!

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31

New International Version   Jesus will never reject you!  He wants to have a relationship with you. He loves you, even in your brokenness. Call upon his name!

Blog Posts

A Narcissist’s Damaging Impact…Hope for the Hurting

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Narcissist is just a fancy word for an extremely self-centered person. Narcissism is a sin. A narcissist is so focused on self, there’s no room to consider others as separate individuals with their own thoughts and emotions. This spiritual issue has roots in bitterness, jealousy, and denial; which are also sins. Narcissism is so selfishly intent on getting its own way, that it is willing to gossip, lie, and slander its victim to the point of destroying someone’s life, all for the sake of keeping its reputation intact.

Narcissists destroy their victims, causing immense pain, with no empathy or regard for the lives they ruin, in order to keep up false appearances. Those who are not the chosen victims, are still negatively impacted by the narcissists. They are often completely unaware that they are being cruelly used by the narcissist, for the sole purpose of causing further trauma to the victim. Why don’t they realize this? There are many reasons. The narcissist’s helpers have been deceived: lied to, manipulated, fooled, and tricked into thinking the narcissist is someone completely different than he or she claims to be. A conniving narcissist often fools generations, and thousands of people. 

If one grows up in a narcissistic household, the family members are trained to obey the narcissist’s every beck and call. If anyone rocks the boat, they risk a tantrum, and the narcissist will make that person pay. For most, it’s not worth the fear and anxiety. The family members learn to praise and go along with the narcissist, hoping to keep the “peace” and avoid becoming victims themselves. They join the narcissist in finding a scapegoat or two, victims made to look as if they are the problems in the family. But the truth is, the narcissist is projecting, transferring, and placing blame onto the victim in an attempt to hide his or her own inadequacies and ugly, dysfunctional secrets. 

Those who aren’t scapegoats, either learn to stay away from the home, or they join hands with the narcissist, hoping to please them to dodge their wrath, and stay under the radar. Though this seems ideal, in a sense, the other family members are victims too. They aren’t allowed to be themselves either. The entire family’s lives are centered around the narcissist. Family members lose their sense of self and find themselves left alone with broken dreams, wondering where their lost years have gone, and why their vivacious personalities have disappeared. 

Over the years, victims of narcissism find themselves shackled in chains of rejection, anger, despair, abandonment, fear, anxiety, self-condemnation, guilt, worthlessness, and the isolation that comes with abuse. In addition, victims are plagued by lies that they are have been taught to believe about themselves. The devil convinces them that the lies are true, because he wants to destroy people and relationships. Though these lies are powerful, they can’t even begin to compare to the power and authority given to us through Jesus Christ. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (Jn. 10:10 New International Version).

Prayer, bible reading, and knowing who you are in Christ, is the beginning of the painful battle. But it’s a battle worth fighting, and God promises victory. The bible itself is a weapon, and God prepares us for war. We are not fighting flesh and blood. We are fighting a spiritual battle. Ephesians, chapter 6, outlines God’s battle plan. This topic will be covered in a separate blog post, but you can get a head start by reading your bible and praying to Jesus. Prayer is the most powerful weapon on earth; it goes beyond outer space and into the Heavens where God hears your pleas for help! 

I’m just one person, out of many, who has experienced severe pain as if it was a constant, unwanted companion. But, I’m also a child of God who loves Jesus. I have been so blessed to receive the help and validation I so desperately needed. I pursued Jesus, and he pulled me out of the deep dark pit of depression and despair caused by narcissistic abuse. 

Pain’s value, is that it helps us to understand compassion. It gives us the ability to empathize, something a narcissist is unable to do (though he or she may be able to pretend). Pain is also part of suffering with Jesus, but it’s temporary, and we get to share in the joys of eternal life with Jesus too! “Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Rom. 8:17).

Jesus knows and cares about how many tears you’ve shed. He cares about the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual pain you’ve endured. The silver lining is that he loves you so much he endured far worse, when he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross for our sins. He died for you, me, narcissists, and everyone else in the whole world. All we need to do is believe on his holy name, and invite him into our hearts. He will erase our sins, wipe away our tears, and take away our pain. One day we will live with him eternally, and we will never remember or experience any pain again! 

But what about now? What about the pain we experience on earth? Jesus wants to take care of that too. “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Pet. 5:10). Give your pain to Jesus. He wants to take it from you. He already sacrificed his life for you. Let him take you into his loving arms.

  
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”                   Rev. 21:4 New Living Translation

Poetry

DEEP…a Psalm of Rescue…Hope for Depression

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I wrote this Psalm during the most difficult spiritual battle of my life.  I’m choosing to share it with you, to let you know that during my deepest, darkest storm, there was a shiny, shimmery silver lining.  It’s now brighter than over, and the storm is over!  Your storm will not last forever.  God wants you to lean on him through the storm.  God may allow the high winds to swirl around you for a while, so you will grab His hand out of desperation.  If he stops the storm for you, when you haven’t yet sought Him, you may find yourself alone in the middle of the ocean.  What happens then?  You will eventually float away and drown!  God doesn’t want that for you.  He loves you! You do not have to live with depression.  It does not identify you.  It is not God’s will for you to be depressed.  It is God’s will for you to be healed through Jesus Christ.   I ran to Jesus when I was hurting, and he saved me from depression. He can save you too!                  

              

Deep
A Psalm of Rescue. Of Angela.

Oh God, only you know the pain
I carry
deep inside,
as deep as your
blackest oceans
where no light shines.

I am drowning;
only you can bring me to the
surface.
Save me from the
sharks’ sharp teeth.
Save me from the choking arms
of the octopus.
Save me from the sting of
jellyfish tentacles,
and save me from the
unknown,
from what I cannot see
down in the
deep.

Pull me up out of the salty water;
rinse my burning eyes.
Lift me up and out
with your
everlasting love.
Save me!
You are my life preserver, Lord.
Let me grab hold of you.

Send me a wild whale
to swim beneath me
and buoy me to the
surface of
your love.

I will choke and gag and spit,
as I dodge the tidal wave,
and break through the
surface of
the sea.

I will gasp with relief
as the warm, sunny air
rushes into my lungs
and fills them.
I will find myself alive!
I can breathe!

You will send me a boat,
and I will float
in the water,
as I gaze at the
puffy white clouds
in the blue, blue sky.

And when I see you,
I will rejoice!
I will leave the boat
and walk on water.
No, I will not walk.
I will run!
I will run into your
ever-loving arms.
Sweet Jesus.
Save me.

~Angela Royse Pelleman ©2012

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” Psalm 69 For the director of music. To the tune of ‘Lilies.’ Of David.   

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is not foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me” (Psalm 69: 1-2 New International Version).