A Real Life Testimony from Our Psychiatric Disorders Conference

CCEF recently held its 2011 National Conference titled "Psychiatric Disorders: A Compassionate Look at Complex Problems" in Louisville, Kentucky. While many attendees have let us know that the conference was beneficial to them in increasing knowledge from which they could draw in their practices and ministries, there were also many stories of personal transformation that took place during the conference. One participant took the time to write to us about their experience, and gave us permission to post it here:

October 26, 2011

Dear CCEF Staff,

I want to express my deep gratitude for the Psychiatric Disorders Conference that you provided in Louisville last weekend. I have been processing the sessions and want to share with you what a blessing all of the teachings were to me. To best understand how God used the words spoken to “quiet me with His love,” a little background is needed.

An unresolved traumatic event from early childhood catapulted me into a life of fear, anxiety, panic, paranoia, hypervigilance, and hypochondria. In college I struggled with anorexia and experienced severe bouts of post-partum depression after both of my children were born. I have just recently, at age 42, connected the significance of that early event with the symptoms I have dealt with over the years. I came to Christ at age 20 in college and for the past 22 years, I have felt immense shame over my inability to “get over” these symptoms and “get off” medication. God didn’t give a “spirit of fear”…I am to be “anxious for nothing.” All of my symptoms have driven me over and over to cry out to God, to cling to His promises, and to grow in intimacy with Him. But, I always felt I was a disappointment to Him for my powerlessness to change.

Enter CCEF conference…where life giving, healing words were spoken over me again and again and again. Here are just a few of the truths that I am basking in:

• I am an embodied soul. I can have a heart at peace, but a body that is not on board; a body that is not getting the message.
• I am infinitely, intricately complex (to the 5th power!) and I can rest in Christ, have hope in Christ when I’m faced with mystery…with “I don’t know.”
• The absence of symptoms and/or the ability to live without medication are NOT markers of “success” – success is growing in the likeness of Christ…loving God and others better. I need to redefine success.
• I can reframe my weaknesses… change my mindset, my attitude to BOAST in my weakness as Paul does, instead of feeling despair, shame, rejection, disapproval.

We must differentiate between being unable to do something because of WEAKNESS and being unwilling to do something because of SIN.

Thank you, thank you, thank you CCEF for being a conduit of God’s grace.

Most sincerely!

(Name withheld to protect privacy)

NOTE: Super Early Bird registration is now open for our 2012 conference in Chatanooga TN on "Guilt and Shame." For a limited time get the entire conference for just $99 ($125 with the Pre-Conference). Click here to register.

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ccef.org/blog/feed on 31 October 2011