Daniel Whitehead interviews Lisa Rumpel for the Sanctuary Course, an eight-part program to help people of faith learn how to create “communities of care for those of us facing mental health challenges.” (Submitted photo)
Have you ever wondered why you are on this earth? What were you made for? Why you struggle in a certain way?
I have been reflecting on the more turbulent years when I was suffering more seriously with mental illness. I wanted to find happiness. I wanted to find wellness. And I wondered, what was the point of this mental anguish?
As I began a journey of finding help, and health, I also became a hope finder. My most profound experiences of hope were in living out my Catholic faith. I discovered the power of prayer, receiving the sacraments, reflecting on Scripture, and regularly confessing my sins. It was a turning point for me when I began to believe that I am beloved. That I am not my illness, I have an illness. That I am a precious daughter of God and my worth comes from him.
After much therapy and opening up to my friends with my story, I found peace in owning my challenge and using it to guide others. Talking about mental health and resilience shatters the stigma that I hold about having an invisible illness. I realized, my story is not my own, and it becomes a story of victory. Christ died and rose from the dead to bring me new life. In my times of darkness, when I was despairing and giving up, Jesus was with me the whole time. He never abandoned me and never will. Maybe I was meant to come out of the pain and share with people in the thick of it that there is hope. That life is worth living. That it gets better.
In the podcast Don’t Keep Your Day Job: Make a Living Doing What You Love, Cathy Heller says, “The opposite of depression is not happiness; it’s purpose. If you are on the planet, you have been assigned a purpose.” I hold fast to the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give a future and a hope.”
Finding purpose out of darkness is God’s pièce de résistance in our lives. Sharing my story is healing, allowing me to reveal the hope that I hold – and that everyone can have hold of, too.
I am now excited for the Sanctuary Course (which I am a part of) that will be available for download online this month. At the Archdiocese of Vancouver offices I was interviewed by Daniel Whitehead, executive director of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries, about my experiences of recovery from a mental illness. It’s for a short video in this course, each session starting with an inspiring video focused on eight individuals’ stories, mine included.
The eight-part course for small groups is intended to “bring hope and healing to people and churches across Canada.” It’s a tool to help people of faith learn how to “sensitively create communities of care for those of us facing mental health challenges.”
In the study you will read, process, and discuss topics on themes such as: “understanding mental health and mental illness, challenging stigma, and the recovery journey.”
You may know a family member, a friend, a colleague, or someone who struggles with mental illness. This is a great opportunity to discover more about self-care, companionship, and loving others. The materials (video and text) will be available for download at an affordable price (under $150) at sanctuarymentalhealth.org. You can even order print copies, if you like.
Everyone struggles with something. If you have a mental illness, you are going to be okay. Each new day is an opportunity to discover the unique call God has for my vital life. With wonder and awe, I seek his will for this beautiful and messy masterpiece. Sometimes, it’s about offering up my suffering, knowing that this too has purpose.