Guys! My blog just topped 10,000 views, most of them in the past year!
Some of you big-time bloggers out there will laugh, but I need you to keep in mind that I'm not a big-time blogger. A year ago I was lucky to get one or two views per month.
I felt inspired to take my blog public so that I could use it to share my testimony and my experiences. I would still blog about my family and my faith, but I started to be more open about my struggle with depression. I wanted to liberate others to talk about the battles they fight and I wanted to give them support and hopefully some practical advice.
Mostly I wanted to give credit where it's due. My Heavenly Father has helped me to rise above my disease in very real ways in the past ten years, and I wanted to share that wonder and that hope. I just didn't know it was part of his plan to use this blog to help me yet again.
I began by writing about how my faith and my depression coexist in He Gives Me Hope. I was blown away that people liked what they read and wanted to share it. It gave me so much joy that my miserable experiences could be turned into blessings for others. I kept writing.
Surprisingly, opening up about my condition has really alleviated my symptoms. I think this is because this blog has been an opportunity for me to serve and also to create.
In October 2008, I found myself lucky enough to be present in the conference center in Salt Lake City for the Women's Session of General Conference. I will never forget the power of Dieter F. Uchtdorf's message, "Happiness, Your Heritage." He taught sisters that we will have greater joy if we strive to serve every day and create every day.
Okay, I'm in danger of quoting the whole talk right here, so I'll stop. But the powerful impression Elder Uchtdorf left upon me that day paved the way for this blog. And this blog has paved the way for deep joy for me.
Journaling is one of the most commonly recommended practices for healing and mental health, but writing a private journal has never been a joyful process for me. My private journal entries are dull and unpolished. But knowing that loved ones and even strangers are reading this blog impels me to think more critically, to tap into my creative self, and especially to do the work to get my real personality onto the page. It is a joy to craft a funny phrase or record a great story in the hope that it can make someone smile.
The joy of creative writing has been the hook that motivated me to write about my experiences. And writing about my experiences has brought me great peace and healing. I have felt the Spirit testify to me of my divine worth, of my Father in Heaven's love for me, and of the sanctity of my life. I have felt gratitude for the struggles that have humbled me and made me seek out my Savior. And as I have revisited painful memories with the lens of faith, I have been able to see that He never deserted me. That is healing. And it could not have happened without you, my friends.
My lonely road is now packed with fellow travelers, arms linked together. Acquaintances who've read the things of my heart have in turn shared the things of their hearts, and now we are acquaintances no longer--we are sisters. You are the greatest gift this blog has given me. Thanks for bringing me hope, healing and joy by being a part of this journey.
To celebrate the blessing this blog has been in my life and hopefully in yours, I've added a couple of gadgets to the left. Check out my most popular posts, and some of the ones that are popular in my own brain. ;) And don't forget to share, it seriously makes my day.
Some of you big-time bloggers out there will laugh, but I need you to keep in mind that I'm not a big-time blogger. A year ago I was lucky to get one or two views per month.
I felt inspired to take my blog public so that I could use it to share my testimony and my experiences. I would still blog about my family and my faith, but I started to be more open about my struggle with depression. I wanted to liberate others to talk about the battles they fight and I wanted to give them support and hopefully some practical advice.
Mostly I wanted to give credit where it's due. My Heavenly Father has helped me to rise above my disease in very real ways in the past ten years, and I wanted to share that wonder and that hope. I just didn't know it was part of his plan to use this blog to help me yet again.
I began by writing about how my faith and my depression coexist in He Gives Me Hope. I was blown away that people liked what they read and wanted to share it. It gave me so much joy that my miserable experiences could be turned into blessings for others. I kept writing.
Surprisingly, opening up about my condition has really alleviated my symptoms. I think this is because this blog has been an opportunity for me to serve and also to create.
In October 2008, I found myself lucky enough to be present in the conference center in Salt Lake City for the Women's Session of General Conference. I will never forget the power of Dieter F. Uchtdorf's message, "Happiness, Your Heritage." He taught sisters that we will have greater joy if we strive to serve every day and create every day.
"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before...
Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty...
You may think you don't have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before--colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter."
Okay, I'm in danger of quoting the whole talk right here, so I'll stop. But the powerful impression Elder Uchtdorf left upon me that day paved the way for this blog. And this blog has paved the way for deep joy for me.
Journaling is one of the most commonly recommended practices for healing and mental health, but writing a private journal has never been a joyful process for me. My private journal entries are dull and unpolished. But knowing that loved ones and even strangers are reading this blog impels me to think more critically, to tap into my creative self, and especially to do the work to get my real personality onto the page. It is a joy to craft a funny phrase or record a great story in the hope that it can make someone smile.
The joy of creative writing has been the hook that motivated me to write about my experiences. And writing about my experiences has brought me great peace and healing. I have felt the Spirit testify to me of my divine worth, of my Father in Heaven's love for me, and of the sanctity of my life. I have felt gratitude for the struggles that have humbled me and made me seek out my Savior. And as I have revisited painful memories with the lens of faith, I have been able to see that He never deserted me. That is healing. And it could not have happened without you, my friends.
My lonely road is now packed with fellow travelers, arms linked together. Acquaintances who've read the things of my heart have in turn shared the things of their hearts, and now we are acquaintances no longer--we are sisters. You are the greatest gift this blog has given me. Thanks for bringing me hope, healing and joy by being a part of this journey.
To celebrate the blessing this blog has been in my life and hopefully in yours, I've added a couple of gadgets to the left. Check out my most popular posts, and some of the ones that are popular in my own brain. ;) And don't forget to share, it seriously makes my day.
1 comment:
I love this post! What an intricate plan Heavenly Father had for you, that you should blog to help others and have been helped in return. I'm so grateful for your openness to me and in this blog. It has truly blessed my life!
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