Scripture of the Day - Timothy

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

~ Second Timothy 1:7

That passage of scripture I shall be holding close to my heart in the coming days as I embark on a long road trip to Oklahoma and Arkansas this coming week into the week following. For me this will be a progress report to see how far I have come (or not) in my recovery from mental illness (generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder) that began in 1988 and continued to chronically and rather devastatingly impair me well into the 2000's. 

This affliction robbed me of my 20's and 30's and once it had fully left me (by the grace of God who had been using it as a disciplinary agent in my life) I was left with the rubble of my life and forced to start over late in my youth (at 40-ish). I have come far in three years... far more than at any other period in my life, a life which seems to be getting better and richer with each passing day. 

The reason I consider this journey a  test of my mental health progress is that one manifestation of my affliction was severe agoraphobia and there is no place worse for an agoraphobe than the Great Plains where I'm headed this coming week. I hope this journey will underscore and highlight how far I've come in my struggle against my illness. More to come on this I hope.