Luk 23:44-45 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
One hundred and thirty three million Americans participate in "Black Friday," the shoppers paradise of Christmas gift hunting. I was amazed a few years back to discover the same phenomena in Britain which is called Boxing Day. The concept is widespread.
If this day does not surprise you, perhaps these statistics regarding mental illness (courtesy of WHO) does: Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are affected by mental, behavioral, neurological and substance use disorders. For example, estimates made by WHO in 2002 showed that 154 million people globally suffer from depression and 25 million people from schizophrenia; 91 million people are affected by alcohol use disorders and 15 million by drug use disorders. A recently published WHO report shows that 50 million people suffer from epilepsy and 24 million from Alzheimer and other dementias. In addition to the above figures, many other disorders affect the nervous system or produce neurological sequelae. Projections based on a WHO study show that worldwide in 2005, 326 million people suffer from migraine; 61 million from cerebrovascular diseases; 18 million from neuroinfections or neurological sequelae of infections. Number of people with neurological sequelae of nutritional disorders and neuropathies (352 million) and neurological sequelae secondary to injuries (170 million) also add substantially to the above burden.
We who have suffered outweigh the statistics for those who will be shopping this very day. Chances are very high that you have been affected in some form of mental illness. For those who can say, "Yes, I have," you have had your own hellish Black Friday, or fill in the weekday blank, when darkness came over your mind and the temple of your sanity was torn in two. It signified an ending and the beginning of a journey you never perceived you might take. What once was taken for granted in the realm of health had been entirely swept over and a new thought process began. Thoughts of survival and coping. Thoughts of repair and recovery. Thoughts of can one ever go back and recapture what was lost in stability.
For each one of us, because we are unique and individual, the thoughts will vary, but the desired results remain the same. Restoration of a sound mind and the cessation from our affliction. In our passage today the sun's light failed, but I can assure you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Son's light upon you shall never grow dim or absent. Yesterday may have been Thanksgiving where we did pause and reflect to give our thanksgiving, but today should be a continuation. You have reason for gratitude for Jesus' warmth and love upon you always.
