[Faith-Talk] Self-care, Being a Servant to God, and Mental Health in the Context of Faith

[Judy Jones]

Hi, Humberto,

First of all, I disagree that blind people are more susceptible to mental health problems. People, blind or sighted, are always going to face problems, as we live in a fallen world, and our heaven isn't down here.

It's the perspective on the problem that makes it seem big, or conquerable. The person can decide to be a victim, or victor. It's how we come at our problems that make the difference.

In my years working in the blindness field, I believe a lot of how one looks at life is first learned at home while growing up. Some people learn to view life as a problem-solver through watching their parents. Others learn through life lessons. 

But in my view, life is what one makes it.

I'll be the first to admit we blind folks have to work harder, prove more, achieve better results, to get where we want to go, but that's the way it is, so we decide to do what we need to, and steam ahead.

I am not a Catholic, but I hope it is still okay to answer here.

The self-care and rest are very important to all of us, if we are to reach out and minister to others.

What your priest said is biblically correct, from what you told us.

But he should have counter-balanced that with the Scripture where God requires us to rest. 

to rest in Him, meaning giving him our burdens, problems, cares. We can do this by talking with him regularly, anywhere, any time.

I found a great Bible study on the YouVersion app that really puts this all in perspective. It is called "Trus, Hustle, Rest." The basic idea is to consult God before tackling anything, do as He directs to the best of our ability, then rest in his assurance that we are on the right path, have done the right thing, have done our best.

You are right, if we try to do everything in our own strength, we will burn out. But if we follow God's example of rest for us, seek him first in all we do, then do our best and work our hardest as He directs, we will not burn out. 

I found a great devotional on rest that came to my inbox a couple days ago.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/are-you-willing-to-embrace-the-rest-god-offers.html??aps=e1b2ae86b95085c41a5e116cecb73de004704a00d9a90881fae858639799a958&utm_content=1152686_20241018_235&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=lst_bst_todays_bible_breakout_2&utm_source=newsletter&bt_ee=oUKEDld0t3Y9IUsi1ybcqHvTfTedAB6yb7Ikms7Uplx6qCdVTrPZU9FHJ6RNfpVO&bt_ts=1729243763522



Judy
sent from the Selvas braille Android tablet

----- Original Message -----
From: Humberto Avila via Faith-Talk <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
Date: Sunday, October 20, 2024 02:30 PM
To: "faith-talk at nfbnet.org" <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
CC: Humberto Avila <humberto_avila.it104 at outlook.com>
Subject: [Faith-Talk] Self-care, Being a Servant to God, and Mental Health in the Context of Faith

Hello, all, 
I hope all is well. Happy sunday. 
I just got done listening to my local Catholic mass online, and in the Cermon, today the father asked everybody in attendance, giving our Liturgical readings of the day, to always serve God, serve others, and serve no matter what it takes. In other words, put others' needs always before ours. 
I personally feel this is quite contraticting to what we are asking for instance, our employees and people in the education field to do. Also medical professionals. If we always put the needs of the neighbor before others, we can create many issues. There's a lot of burnout and compassion fatigue in my proffession. Same for nurses. Look what happened during the mere peaks of the COVID pandemic. Many folks quit their jobs weather nurses, teachers, ETC. But today, what the Priest is asking everybody to do, be a hero, love God, and always become a servant of God, is super confounding to me. I think this might even get a lot of people new to the Christian world very confused, and I feel many youth as well, especially with the many messages they get already in this crazy world.  
So, I'm wondering, for fellow Christians / Catholics, do you believe there is a way forward when it comes to the acceptance of mental health issues within our communities? Because, personally, perhaps through my experiences within my own church, given the messaging I received today, is this is going to create so much stigma amongst Church goers. What has been your experiences? 
I also think it fits perfectly for our Blind community who also tends to be more at risk for mental health issues more than sighted people, due to the discrimination, ableism, and other treatments we receive.  But I'm just wondering if there is some kind of balance to these issues?  
Thoughts? 
Happy sunday again and God bless. 
—  Humberto 
Sent from my iPhone
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