To Write Love on Her Arms - INTRO.

I may have said this here before but I think its worth repeating, I believe that the church and society generally have a couple of big taboo topics, one of these is Mental Illness, to admit that you have this in the church is like telling people that you are demon possessed.

Get real guys, these things can and do affect people in our congregation whether we like it or not.

I have suffered severe depression (a form of mental illness if onyl people would admit it!) I and have also self harmed as a direct result of the depression I have suffered, and still do suffer, this is something that just wont go away, it is part of who I am and its part of my journey.

I want to be a real person, I want to be whole, of course I want to be whole but I also want to be real and denying that I have, or have had, these problems doesn’t make me either real or whole.

I recently came across a charity, based in America, called ‘to write love on her arms’ the story behind the charity is so powerful and has touched me pretty deeply, I challenge you to watch this video and not be moved by it.

All too often we can shrug off the fact that someone hurts themselves, tries to commit suicide or cuts etc, and say they are just attention seeking, other who take drugs, how often do we just look down on them but we need to get alongside such people and write love on their hearts as well as their arms, show them true compassion and true love and show them that there is another way forward.

I am fortunate to have a good and very strong wife along with some really good loyal, strong, lovely friends who have able to carry me through what is without doubt the toughest couple of years of my adult life, I am on a journey, still on a journey, of discovery and healing, healing from the past and discovery of new things to come, but this journey would have been so much harder without the love care and support of a group of dedicated friends who have loved me through it.

Others are not so fortunate and this is where TWLOHA comes in, they are encouraging people to do this for others, to get alongside them and journey with them, I want to encourage you, TWLOHA don’t work in this country (yet) but we don’t need to be a part of a group or have a title to do this, just look around you, you don’t have to look far to find people who are hurting and who need this love in their lives, I challenge you to write love on her arms (and in her heart) anywhere you find her, or him.

Please visit their web site for more info and if your in America and there is a project near you why not get involved?