A Sound Mind

The passing of Rob and Michelle Reiner touched a tender part of my heart this past month. My own family has dealt generationally with extreme examples of mental illness, resulting in institutionalization at times. There comes a point, especially with parents, where we must seek external support since we can’t handle the magnitude of the illness within the home.  We cannot fathom the mind of Almighty, but we can recognize that he gives us strength in hardship, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  2 Timothy 1:7.

 It takes a great deal of courage and understanding to admit the problem we are facing is one we can’t manage on our own and make hard choices. On several occasions, my family members suffering from this mental affliction have struggled to accept that institutional help is required for both the safety of themselves and others. As it pertains to loving parents like the late Rob and Michelle Reiner, it feels counterintuitive to release the care of your loved one to someone beyond yourself. Their lives will forever reflect the beauty of their hearts, even if their passing illuminates the dark realities of how the enemy can take hold of one's mind. I like to think of  them like the words from Abe Lincoln in the Gettysburg address, “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.”

I do not know the answers to healing mental illness completely--especially epigenetically--but I do know that when we seek God, we too can receive his guidance, wisdom, a sound mind, and even deliverance.

-Written by Shira Pacult