***The Following is a Fictional account of a man named Skyler Clark who struggles with Schizophrenia. This is not about me. There might be some triggering subject matter. If you are easily triggered, do not read this. ***
It has been a few days of marital bliss between Sarah and myself. I have really been enjoying our time together. She has the next few days off from work and so we decided to take a walk in the park together. Maybe Mr. Romero will be there. I really would like to see him again. I have not seen him since I've gotten out of the hospital. As we are getting ready for our day at the park, I am preparing some picnic food. I am packing some bologna sandwiches, some bags of chips, and some other miscellaneous items. Sarah is in the bathroom cleaning herself up. I love how she always wants to be clean. She takes good care of herself. I start to daydream about how our day is going to go and then I begin thinking about how I am going to share the Gospel with her too. I really would like for her to become a Christian. However, I do not want to be too pushy about it. The Lord will draw her in His perfect timing.
"Honey, are you ready?" She says and I turn around to see her standing at the door in a beautiful sundress. My jaw drops. She looks absolutely stunning in that dress. I did not even know she had that in the closet. I tell her that I am and grab the picnic basket full of food. We then head out of the front door and begin the long walk to the park. As we are walking and talking, I see a flicker of the flying cat flying in the air, but I just shake my head it disappears. She notices that and asks me if I have seen another hallucination. I honestly say yes and she just gives me a hug and tells me everything will be alright. I love this woman.
Once we are at the park, we find a nice spot to lay down our blanket to have our picnic. We sit down on the blanket and I hand her her sandwich and chips and drink. Then, I grab my food and drink too. As we are eating, we are chatting about everything under the sun such as the weather, the Denver Broncos, and politics, and then finally we get to religion. I see this as an open door from the Lord, and I silently thank Him for it.
"Sarah, do you know why I have been such a changed man?" I quietly ask her. She shakes her head and says that she has been wondering about that. I tell her that it is because of my encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. She looks really confused by this.
"What do you mean? I mean, I know that you have been reading the Bible lately..." Her voice trailed off. I tell her about how I have realized how much of a sinner I truly am and I asked God to forgive me of my sins and then I trusted in Jesus for salvation. She definitely looks perplexed right now. I decided to start from the beginning.
"You see, about 2,000 years ago God came down as a man. This God-Man performed many miracles and then was sacrificed on a Roman cross for our sins. Then, miraculously about three days later, He rose from the dead!" I say this with much excitement in my voice. She just looks at me strangely. I continue on with, "Now, God commands everyone everywhere to repent and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation"
"What does it mean to 'repent'?" She looks confused by that word. I tell her exactly what Mr. Romero told me about how it is a literal turning away from one's sins and turning to God. She asks me what is a sin and tell her that it is breaking God's Ten Commandments. I tell her that we all have broken them and she tells me that she hasn't. I ask if she would be willing to take the Good Person Test and she asks me to explain what that is.
"I'll ask you a series of questions to gauge if you have lived up to His Standard or not," I explain and she agrees to do it. I then ask her if she has ever lusted for another man who was not me. She honestly says yes and I immediately feel some sort of way about that, but I continue on. I tell her that Jesus said that if you even lust for someone then you've committed adultery. She looks pained by this. God is obviously convicting her heart already.
"Have you ever told a lie before in your life?" I ask her and she answers with an "Of Course, who hasn't?" Then, I ask her if she has ever used God's name as a swear word and she says yes.
"So, what you are telling me is that you are a liar, adulterer, and blasphemer. If God were to judge you by just those three standards, where do you think you'll end up?" I ask her and she tells me that she does not want to do this anymore. Then, she gets up and smoothes out her dress. I ask her where she is going and she says she is going back home. She looks upset and I feel confused. Why is she behaving this way? I thought that when I tell her the Gospel, she would immediately accept Christ as her Savior. What did I do wrong, Lord? I pray for her, as I start packing everything up.
As soon as I come into our home, she apologizes for how she behaved and tells me that she just did not want to hear about religion today. She just wanted to have an enjoyable outside date with me. I tell her that I understand, but then I tell her that Jesus is much more than a religion. I tell her that it is a relationship with God. She looks at me with disbelief and I tell her that if she promises to come with me to church tomorrow morning, then I will drop the whole Jesus talk tonight. She agrees to come with me to church and we kiss and head to the bedroom, where we make out again until we fall asleep.
The next morning I woke up feeling rejuvenated and I head to the kitchen to make my morning cup of coffee. On the other hand, my wife does not look so energetic this morning. I ask her what is the matter and she tells me that she did not sleep well. However, she promises that she will stay true to her word and come with me to church. After we eat a hearty breakfast, we start getting ready. I change into my best suit and tie and she changes into another sundress. Then, we both head out to the car. As we are driving to church, she asks me what is the name of my church, and I tell her. She then asks me who the priest is.
"His name is Pastor Tom" I politely correct her with a smile. She looks like she feels a little sheepish. As soon as we arrive at church and walk inside, we are greeted by the Ushers, who shake our hands and hand us our bulletins for the service. We then take our seats in the back. I prefer sitting close to the front, but since this is Sarah's first time I am fine with sitting in the back pew. The sermon this morning is about the roles of men and women in marriage. The irony. Pastor Tom gives a very compelling sermon about what exactly it looks like for husbands to lay down their lives for their wives and for wives to submit to their husbands. I really enjoy this sermon.
After the service, we leave the sanctuary and spend some fellowship time with the other congregants. I go around introducing my wife to everyone until I see Mr. Romero. Then, I walk up to him and begin a conversation. My wife gets approached by an elderly woman who introduces herself as Eleanor. My wife smiles and introduces herself.
"Are you from around here, Sarah?" Eleanor asks gently. My wife tells her no she is from Denver. Eleanor looks surprised and asks her what brings her to Colorado Springs.
"Basically, my job," Sarah says and Eleanor asks her where she works at. After about ten minutes of chit-chat about some small things concerning work, being a wife and mother, all of sudden Eleanor mentions that her husband has Bipolar disorder. Sarah looks surprised by this. She tells her about my illness.
"I am sorry to hear that, darling," Eleanor says, "I am sure that life has been tough for the both of you." Sarah says that it has been. Eleanor says that it has been tough, but that if it weren't for Jesus they would not have made it. Sarah is astonished by this and asks her how Jesus has helped her and her husband.
"Well, when I think about how much God loves us that He'd send His only son to take the punishment we deserve upon Himself and how patient He is in drawing us, it helps me to be patient and loving toward my husband when he is behaving erratically." Eleanor calmly explains. Sarah immediately feels a sense of conviction about what this woman is saying. She has never thought about how much she has been a sinner before. She always assumed that since she has been so patient with me that God would give her an automatic pass into Heaven. Now, she finally understands what she must do. She looks Eleanor straight in her eyes and says, "How can I be saved?" Eleanor's eyes light up at this and she loudly proclaims that she needs to repent and believe the Gospel. This gets my attention as I turn to look in my wife's direction.
"I believe the Gospel," Sarah confidently says and Eleanor leaps for joy and hugs her. I leave Mr. Romero and walk quickly toward Sarah and Eleanor. I ask my wife if she just made a profession of faith. she proudly nods her head and tears of joy come running down my face. I am so very excited about this and I praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy toward us. This is an answer to prayer, for sure. As we are driving home, Sarah says that she needs a Bible, and I tell her that I will get her one from the local Christian bookstore tomorrow while she is at work. I want to get her a good one that she will like, but I want to surprise her though. We drive the rest of the way home in silence as I am thinking about how our life is blessed by God.
If you want to see how this story ends, please order the book from Amazon on June 2023.
Click Here To Access Book On Amazon
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
"Honey, are you ready?" She says and I turn around to see her standing at the door in a beautiful sundress. My jaw drops. She looks absolutely stunning in that dress. I did not even know she had that in the closet. I tell her that I am and grab the picnic basket full of food. We then head out of the front door and begin the long walk to the park. As we are walking and talking, I see a flicker of the flying cat flying in the air, but I just shake my head it disappears. She notices that and asks me if I have seen another hallucination. I honestly say yes and she just gives me a hug and tells me everything will be alright. I love this woman.
Once we are at the park, we find a nice spot to lay down our blanket to have our picnic. We sit down on the blanket and I hand her her sandwich and chips and drink. Then, I grab my food and drink too. As we are eating, we are chatting about everything under the sun such as the weather, the Denver Broncos, and politics, and then finally we get to religion. I see this as an open door from the Lord, and I silently thank Him for it.
"Sarah, do you know why I have been such a changed man?" I quietly ask her. She shakes her head and says that she has been wondering about that. I tell her that it is because of my encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. She looks really confused by this.
"What do you mean? I mean, I know that you have been reading the Bible lately..." Her voice trailed off. I tell her about how I have realized how much of a sinner I truly am and I asked God to forgive me of my sins and then I trusted in Jesus for salvation. She definitely looks perplexed right now. I decided to start from the beginning.
"You see, about 2,000 years ago God came down as a man. This God-Man performed many miracles and then was sacrificed on a Roman cross for our sins. Then, miraculously about three days later, He rose from the dead!" I say this with much excitement in my voice. She just looks at me strangely. I continue on with, "Now, God commands everyone everywhere to repent and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation"
"What does it mean to 'repent'?" She looks confused by that word. I tell her exactly what Mr. Romero told me about how it is a literal turning away from one's sins and turning to God. She asks me what is a sin and tell her that it is breaking God's Ten Commandments. I tell her that we all have broken them and she tells me that she hasn't. I ask if she would be willing to take the Good Person Test and she asks me to explain what that is.
"I'll ask you a series of questions to gauge if you have lived up to His Standard or not," I explain and she agrees to do it. I then ask her if she has ever lusted for another man who was not me. She honestly says yes and I immediately feel some sort of way about that, but I continue on. I tell her that Jesus said that if you even lust for someone then you've committed adultery. She looks pained by this. God is obviously convicting her heart already.
"Have you ever told a lie before in your life?" I ask her and she answers with an "Of Course, who hasn't?" Then, I ask her if she has ever used God's name as a swear word and she says yes.
"So, what you are telling me is that you are a liar, adulterer, and blasphemer. If God were to judge you by just those three standards, where do you think you'll end up?" I ask her and she tells me that she does not want to do this anymore. Then, she gets up and smoothes out her dress. I ask her where she is going and she says she is going back home. She looks upset and I feel confused. Why is she behaving this way? I thought that when I tell her the Gospel, she would immediately accept Christ as her Savior. What did I do wrong, Lord? I pray for her, as I start packing everything up.
As soon as I come into our home, she apologizes for how she behaved and tells me that she just did not want to hear about religion today. She just wanted to have an enjoyable outside date with me. I tell her that I understand, but then I tell her that Jesus is much more than a religion. I tell her that it is a relationship with God. She looks at me with disbelief and I tell her that if she promises to come with me to church tomorrow morning, then I will drop the whole Jesus talk tonight. She agrees to come with me to church and we kiss and head to the bedroom, where we make out again until we fall asleep.
The next morning I woke up feeling rejuvenated and I head to the kitchen to make my morning cup of coffee. On the other hand, my wife does not look so energetic this morning. I ask her what is the matter and she tells me that she did not sleep well. However, she promises that she will stay true to her word and come with me to church. After we eat a hearty breakfast, we start getting ready. I change into my best suit and tie and she changes into another sundress. Then, we both head out to the car. As we are driving to church, she asks me what is the name of my church, and I tell her. She then asks me who the priest is.
"His name is Pastor Tom" I politely correct her with a smile. She looks like she feels a little sheepish. As soon as we arrive at church and walk inside, we are greeted by the Ushers, who shake our hands and hand us our bulletins for the service. We then take our seats in the back. I prefer sitting close to the front, but since this is Sarah's first time I am fine with sitting in the back pew. The sermon this morning is about the roles of men and women in marriage. The irony. Pastor Tom gives a very compelling sermon about what exactly it looks like for husbands to lay down their lives for their wives and for wives to submit to their husbands. I really enjoy this sermon.
After the service, we leave the sanctuary and spend some fellowship time with the other congregants. I go around introducing my wife to everyone until I see Mr. Romero. Then, I walk up to him and begin a conversation. My wife gets approached by an elderly woman who introduces herself as Eleanor. My wife smiles and introduces herself.
"Are you from around here, Sarah?" Eleanor asks gently. My wife tells her no she is from Denver. Eleanor looks surprised and asks her what brings her to Colorado Springs.
"Basically, my job," Sarah says and Eleanor asks her where she works at. After about ten minutes of chit-chat about some small things concerning work, being a wife and mother, all of sudden Eleanor mentions that her husband has Bipolar disorder. Sarah looks surprised by this. She tells her about my illness.
"I am sorry to hear that, darling," Eleanor says, "I am sure that life has been tough for the both of you." Sarah says that it has been. Eleanor says that it has been tough, but that if it weren't for Jesus they would not have made it. Sarah is astonished by this and asks her how Jesus has helped her and her husband.
"Well, when I think about how much God loves us that He'd send His only son to take the punishment we deserve upon Himself and how patient He is in drawing us, it helps me to be patient and loving toward my husband when he is behaving erratically." Eleanor calmly explains. Sarah immediately feels a sense of conviction about what this woman is saying. She has never thought about how much she has been a sinner before. She always assumed that since she has been so patient with me that God would give her an automatic pass into Heaven. Now, she finally understands what she must do. She looks Eleanor straight in her eyes and says, "How can I be saved?" Eleanor's eyes light up at this and she loudly proclaims that she needs to repent and believe the Gospel. This gets my attention as I turn to look in my wife's direction.
"I believe the Gospel," Sarah confidently says and Eleanor leaps for joy and hugs her. I leave Mr. Romero and walk quickly toward Sarah and Eleanor. I ask my wife if she just made a profession of faith. she proudly nods her head and tears of joy come running down my face. I am so very excited about this and I praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy toward us. This is an answer to prayer, for sure. As we are driving home, Sarah says that she needs a Bible, and I tell her that I will get her one from the local Christian bookstore tomorrow while she is at work. I want to get her a good one that she will like, but I want to surprise her though. We drive the rest of the way home in silence as I am thinking about how our life is blessed by God.
If you want to see how this story ends, please order the book from Amazon on June 2023.
Click Here To Access Book On Amazon
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
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