He legally changed his name to “Watchman” after he heard the Lord give him a prophecy that he is the fulfillment of God’s name to Ezekiel. He also calls himself “the Branch” and is confident that God wants him to be president of the United States.
He passes out leaflets against abortion and supporting religious freedom. Every few months, he would walk in a public park, nude, preaching to the people.
Lately, especially in the heat, he would just freeze for weeks “listening to the Lord”—sometimes stopping in the middle of traffic. He is often in the hospital, where he is cared for until he is self-sustaining again.
Yet for all of his important ideas, he sits humbly in a church, listening to sermons with only the rare response, then he will go and wash dishes without being asked.
Showing posts with label mentally ill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mentally ill. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Meet Fred H
A sixty-something man struggling with schizophrenia. His “grandmother” and “mother” and “landlord” are constantly giving him rules for him to abide to. Couches are not allowed in apartments, he says, nor is he allowed to sleep on a bed. His Sabbath is from Friday at noon until Sunday night, during which time he cannot buy anything nor can he ride public transportation.
In the past, he would refuse his medication and then he would go on a fast that would last months. His longest fast was no food and only the barest water for three months until he was hospitalized for kidney failure. Yet, despite the many crosses and his lower-than-monastic lifestyle, he is the gentlest, most friendly man you would meet.
He is not a rebel, nor is he angry about the rules of his life. Rather, he is the best example of humility and joy anyone could find.
In the past, he would refuse his medication and then he would go on a fast that would last months. His longest fast was no food and only the barest water for three months until he was hospitalized for kidney failure. Yet, despite the many crosses and his lower-than-monastic lifestyle, he is the gentlest, most friendly man you would meet.
He is not a rebel, nor is he angry about the rules of his life. Rather, he is the best example of humility and joy anyone could find.
Meet the Anawim
We are the Anawim.
We are wounded, yet seeking God for healing. We believe with a fierceness and a tenacity. We know that without Jesus, we couldn’t survive a single day.
In our woundedness, we often falter. Some of us are addicts, some of us hurt others, some of us are mentally ill. However, even in the midst of the small harms, we carry great love. We have to help the desperate, because no one else will do it.
We live with great sorrow, but also experience great joy. We live our lives to the full, although many say that our lives are worth nothing. But we would say that a life of experiencing the heartache of the street and the isolation of mental illness, but in care of others and the forgiveness of Jesus is better than the mind-numbing lives of the middle class.
Even if our lives are a small thing in the eyes of the world, they are a shining twinkle in God’s eye.
We are wounded, yet seeking God for healing. We believe with a fierceness and a tenacity. We know that without Jesus, we couldn’t survive a single day.
In our woundedness, we often falter. Some of us are addicts, some of us hurt others, some of us are mentally ill. However, even in the midst of the small harms, we carry great love. We have to help the desperate, because no one else will do it.
We live with great sorrow, but also experience great joy. We live our lives to the full, although many say that our lives are worth nothing. But we would say that a life of experiencing the heartache of the street and the isolation of mental illness, but in care of others and the forgiveness of Jesus is better than the mind-numbing lives of the middle class.
Even if our lives are a small thing in the eyes of the world, they are a shining twinkle in God’s eye.
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