Thomas was a 22-year-old Hispanic-American male born and raised in New York. He entered the room and sat on the edge of the most comfortable seat in the space. He explained that it was his first time seeking a therapist. I noticed his breathing seemed a bit heavy and his leg was shaking.

I slipped into this dangerous cycle of maintaining control and creating future plans for myself. I allowed myself to continuously daydream and visualize about my future timeline which was nonexistent in that moment… I was pretty confident in the plans I had made, but something just felt a little off. Deep in my heart, I knew something just wasn’t right.

I suffer from both depression and an anxiety disorder. When I was diagnosed with these illnesses, I felt a self-imposed pressure that begged some serious questions: If I am a woman of faith, how can I be so anxious? How can I be depressed? If I truly trust the Lord, how can I feel this way?

I couldn’t calm myself down. My mom couldn’t either. So, she called my brother (who was a firefighter at the time) and he hurried over with some of his firefighter friends. They couldn’t calm me down, and the next thing I knew, I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.

As I swerved, I saw flashing lights on behind me. I hit the brakes... and my car stopped. I don’t remember unlocking the doors, but the cop was able to open the door. I had already been crying, and just sobbed even harder. I couldn’t believe he had stopped me. He looked me in my eyes and asked if I was okay. I just kept crying.

GOD SAVED MY LIFE by leading me to a few young guys at my new church…I soon realized that it was because they knew who they were and they knew where their worth came from. They knew they were sons, sons of the living God, their true Father.

“But don’t think this was a waste of time. It was really powerful to see people my own age talk about the faith like you guys did. There was definitely a seed planted. Who knows where this is going to lead.”

I was convinced that there was a stranger in my house trying to get me even though it was absolutely nothing. Every time I would try to shake the feeling, I could never get the anxiety to leave me.

he stood up, hugged me, and said the words I will never forget as long as I am breathing... “I know this hurts, I know it sucks and I am sorry you’ve had to go through this feeling so alone. But I promise you, this is going to get better. It’s going to be okay; I promise.”

I learned to take the focus off me. I was afraid of messing up, stumbling, mispronouncing words, and embarrassing myself. I was standing up to read the Word of God and all that I could think about was myself.

Shame is not truth. Truth is giving it to God and accepting the mercy that He longs to give us. Truth is choosing to let go of shame.

If you work out, think about making your workout a Prayer Workout for someone who is struggling. If you want to work out but lack motivation, then try a Prayer Workout and do it for someone else.

Healing and forgiveness can’t happen by yourself. I was trapped in depression, isolation, and loneliness until I took the risk to let someone in. For 12 years, I didn’t tell anyone what I had been through as a young girl.