thanks, doc

i met one of my heroes today. henry cloud. what an awesome guy.

jenn and i went to hear him speak at the women of faith pre-conference. he was everything i thought he would be and more (including pretty attractive!) he signed two books for me, and i was able to look him directly in the eye and personally thank him for his writings and his honesty. he then looked me in the eye and said thank you. i know this is going to sound really corny, but for one brief second, i felt like we both shared a moment of genuine appreciation.

henry cloud was the first person ~ or i should say 'christian' person ~ who gave me permission to be flawed. he was the first to say that my depression was a disease instead of a condition brought on by a lapse in judgement, crisis of faith, sinful behavior, or weakness of character. he, along with my new church at the time, helped define 'grace' for me. he taught me that as a christian, i am not immune to life's difficulties. he convinced me that i did not have to feel guilty about my affliction or abandoned by God. it was he that described how God has gifted others to help all of us in the midst of crisis ~ be they friends, physicians, or therapists. from him, I have learned that i can allow my disease to increase my compassion, and therefore offer comfort to others. one of the first statements of cloud's that i ever read is one that i draw on over and over again...it's something like my own personal mission statement:

God's word teaches that the most comforting people in the world,
are those who have been comforted; the most understanding people are those who have been understood; and the most loving people are those who have been loved.

it is only because i have been comforted, understood, and loved that i am able to offer that to others.

interestingly, the leader of the pre-conference told dr. cloud how amazed she was at the amount of grace he was offering to those looking for answers to difficult questions. we were talking this week at work about the idea of grace ~ or should i say the lack of grace ~ in so many churches. one of my co-workers was relating a story in which a young woman said that if she were going through a divorce or any other difficult life experience, the church would be the last place she would go to seek comfort, prayer, and advice for fear of judgement. dr. cloud reminded us today that God did not come into the world to judge or condemn it, but to seek and save those who were lost.

this needs to be added to my 'mission statement', as a reminder of God's mercy and need for my own daily humility.