When my marriage blew up in my face, the easy choice was to leave the church. I had already stopped doing so many things that the church would have me do, why not stop everything altogether? I felt like I needed to take a break from life, so I went down to the LA area to see some old friends. They all told me that this was an important part of my life that I am learning from, so, of course, I should get a tattoo to symbolize the changes I was making and to remind me to never go back. I have to admit that despite my belief that my body is a temple to be cared for, I was tempted. Don't worry, mom. No ink here.
The only people in Fresno who I felt comfortable talking to about the things that need to be said were my family and my church leaders. I think Heavenly Father arranged it that way. Because I had such strong spiritual support, I gradually started finding the strength to walk away from the easy choices and to make the hard ones. I started re-building a relationship with the Lord. I feel His love often, and it's a lot better than anything my husband ever gave me. Sometimes I even feel that having a close relationship with my Heavenly Father may be curing my depression.
Making difficult choices, doing what I know is right, is what is giving me the strength to get through the trials that I've been facing. I honestly don't know how anyone survives as long as they do without the Gospel.
While I know that going through a divorce yourself is infintely harder, when my parents got divorced, I don't know what I would have done without the church. After my parents' divorce, somebody asked my mom if she was going to stop coming to church; she never did. What she needed most at that time was support, and she knew she wasn't going to find that by staying home on Sundays.
ReplyDeleteAlso, nothing has been better for my depression than trying to develop a strong relationship with Heavenly Father. It sounds like you're absolutely on the right track. Keep up the good work!