Notes to My Siblings

I’ve already heard people criticize @nfrealmusic new album, saying that he should have been more hopeful and positive. As someone who has been battling for mental health the past year and walked closely with others struggling with OCD, depression, anxiety, and the like, I can tell you... This album is FULL of hope for those who are struggling. Full. Of. It. I almost cried at least three times as I listened through. For myself, for the friends who are struggling, for the reality that I’m not the only one. You see, hope can come in all forms. Hope is not just fluffy pink bunnies and sunshine. Hope can be gritty and rough and a single beam of light hitting the back wall of the deep, gross, seemingly bottomless cave we find ourselves in. We follow it, up and down, over rocks, gaining ground, then sliding off cliffs. We lose sight of the beam for a while, but we keep struggling in the direction we last saw it. And eventually, we find it again. Finding true and deep internal peace in Christ

I’ve been pondering the theology of healing and health a lot lately. Four years ago, I would have told you that health had to do with what you did for your body: food intake, exercise, rest, treating infections, supplementation. Today, I would tell you that wellness encompasses not just physical aspects but also emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects. When Jesus interacted with the people he healed, he didn’t ask physical doctor-y questions, he asked soul questions and gave soul explanations. .“Do you want to be healed?” “Do you believe I am able to do this?” “Your sins are forgiven.” Science backs up the idea that physical ailments are not only physical. Childhood trauma (trauma can be much less obvious than the things that first come to mind) sets people up for a 70-80% increase in the possibility that they will develop an autoimmune disease later in life. Absolutely no disagreement from me that you have to take care of your physical body with good food, reducing toxins, getting en