We will recall that we are children of God. We are created out of Love. We are chosen good, holy and have purpose... a task to perform here on Earth before we return to God. We deserve to be treated as a person who has value and dignity.

We will embrace our illness or our family members illness as a friend this day, looking for what it is teaching me about the mystery of God and Life.

We will not allow the stigma of mental illness to defeat us this day. We will choose to have power over the stigma of mental illness by detaching ourselves from the stigma.

We will talk to someone today who will encourage us to see our goodness and holiness as a child of God. Maybe we will share a prayer together for one another.

We will look for humor and reasons to laugh and be happy. Quiet joy will be our goal.

We will read a passage from Scripture or something from a book of devotion, inspiration or spiritual reading that will encourage us to trust and hope in the power and love of God.

We will seek twenty minutes of solitude, silence, and prayer this day. If our minds won't quiet down, if our thoughts keep racing, we will ofer that as our prayer to God. If necessary and helpful, we will listen to soothing instrumental music or inspiration/religious music to quiet us and remind us that God is present.

We will walk outdoors marveling at a sunrise, a sunset, the song of a bird, the soothing colors of nature... the serenity of green grass, a blue sky, the softness of the pastel blossoms of Springtime and the peaceful waters of a river, lake or stream that ripple and flow. We will remind ourselves that everything in nature is a reflection of the Creator and pleases the Creator just as it is and so do we just as we are.

We will delight in the knowledge that we are each created different because it is in our differences that we make a more powerful and beautiful whole. We each reflect a different aspect of the mystery of Life and God. Individually and together we are a Masterpiece.

In God are our hope and joy. We will give honor, glory and praise to God knowing and trusting what God has in store for us. We do not seek or like suffering but our suffering can make us strong in many ways and more compassionate and loving to others... our brothers and sisters in God.

Knowing for sure that although we long for God, God's longing for us is even greater. We will rest in that knowledge this day.


Adapted from - Rita Sebastian Lambert
Workshop on Spirituality
Mental Illness Ministries
www.ministry.org