Article January 7, 2013 Issue

Perfect peace: bipolar no more

Elizabeth Kellogg

Recently I was rereading the story of Abraham in Genesis, seeking its inspiration. While he is often referred to as the Father of Faith, Abraham certainly had several episodes of doubt and lack of faith in his life (see, for example, Genesis 15:2–4 and Genesis 17:15–19). Yet Mary Baker Eddy wrote of him, “This patriarch illustrated the purpose of Love to create trust in good, and showed the life-preserving power of spiritual understanding” (Science and Health, p. 579). I love the thought that it is divine Love’s purpose to create trust in good!

About 18 years ago, I had an experience that, not unlike Abraham’s, led to victory over doubt and unfaithfulness. Through the teachings of Christian Science, I am now able to look at it with the goal of seeing Love’s purpose in—and of realizing what God is communicating to me about—life. And like any good Bible story, the experience will surely be teaching me for years to come.

I had a mental breakdown and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The doctors said that the disease was incurable, that it would become more severe as I aged, and that medication would be required for the rest of my life to control the symptoms. The diagnosis was devastating. I had never even heard the word bipolar before, but as the doctors continued to describe the symptoms, I found myself agreeing with their assessment.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Sharing the hope within you