I’ve struggled with anxiety since my 20s. It all started when I experienced some minor physical symptoms that I became convinced were signs of a serious illness. A dread settled over me that drained the joy from life and made sleeping and concentrating almost impossible. I’d wake up in the middle of the night overcome by a suffocating feeling that I was dying. Sometimes I’d flee my little apartment to find reprieve in the night air or just pace until the sun came up. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was experiencing classic panic attacks.

I still struggle with anxiety, but I have more tools and support today. I have a patient and wise wife (who keeps me off WebMD) and a network of family and friends who check in on me. And, of course, my faith has been challenged—and strengthened—by the struggle.

Naturally, I was intrigued when I saw the article title “Jesus and My OCD.” I don’t struggle with obsessive compulsive disorder, but I was curious to see an author broaching the topic of faith and mental illness. And when I read it, I was grateful for the author’s vulnerability and wisdom. “We are not our thoughts and not even our wills,” he writes. “We are what the Word of God will make of us.”

Speaking of mental illness, check out our resource addressing the question of what it means to pastor people through this challenging, often stigmatized, challenge.