I wanted to give one more follow-up post about my anxiety story that I posted recently. I've gotten lots of comments, emails and messages about it, which I'm really glad about, but the absolute best thing that's come from it is the dialogue it's opened between myself and God (true, authentic dialogue) and also other friends in my life. I've been able to have really open conversations that might not have happened without me really opening up and being honest, but these conversations have also led me to go back and reword some things in my original post.
My intent of sharing certain stories was only to show how skewed and wrong my "lens" was. I was believing what Satan wanted me to believe and hearing what he wanted me to hear. I created realities in my mind that weren't reality AT ALL. I never want to give the impression that people were mean to me or excluded me. What I wanted to get across in my post was simply how I (falsely) PERCEIVED things and how little life moments (that by themselves aren't a big deal) can combine with our emotional history to create a crazy mentality in our minds. Satan loves creating the illusion of isolation, and for a long time that's where I was (even though it was not true!). I always try to be careful with my words (because I believe that words have weight, and just because I have a personal blog doesn't mean I have the right to say whatever I want, however I want), so to honor everyone involved, I just went back and made sure I was clear with my intent.
This story was about how Satan put me in a prison of the mind. I felt like I was being obedient to the Lord to share my story, but I always want to be very clear and careful in how I communicate. I've been surrounded by very loving, gracious people, and they have been so supportive as I've found healing from my anxiety. It's been more than I ever prayed for, which is totally how God works.
I've learned that our minds take emotional snapshots, and those snapshots combine to make our emotional album, so to speak. The thing is, often the camera doesn't capture with 100% accuracy. We have to go back and examine what was really happening, and focus on what we know to be true. This process of sharing my story has grown me in ways that I can't even explain. It's been wonderful to hear from others that are finding freedom from things like anxiety, but it's also been an incredible journey of healing with special people in my life, where my anxiety had affected those relationships.
God truly rejoices when we begin to walk in abundant life, and I give Him total praise and thanks for continuing the "good work" that He has begun in me.