Ladies Retreat Testimony

"I wanted to share with you a way that God spoke to me over this weekend. As you know, I've struggled with my mental health for years. Over the last year, I had to deal with some specific relational issues that have been a source of the pain that lead to depression. I've recently had to forgive this person and accept that these things happened, and I had been doing a lot better lately with being optimistic, setting life goals, and remembering things that I used to love. But over the last 2 weeks or so, I started waking up in the middle of the night upset and nearly panicking over some things this person did that hurt me deeply. I have been praying to God and asking why I suddenly started having this anxiety again when I thought I was healing and doing better. It was disheartening to feel like I've been putting so much effort into healing and moving forward, only for this pain to come back up suddenly. The story that Donna told about how when you ring a bell, it continues to sound for a while until it slows and stops, and relating that to how emotions can continue to rise up in a person even after they've forgiven someone really touched me. She even mentioned waking up in the middle of the night with racing thoughts. It felt like God was speaking to me and answering the question I had been asking him lately - that I haven't failed in my efforts of healing, but that these things will continue to come up occasionally until they fade away. I've had other people tell me this before, but that analogy really made me fully understand it."