***This is a fictitious account of a man named Danny who deals with Clinical Depression. Some content in this series may be triggering. If you are easily triggered, please do not read this***
It has been six months since my most recent hospitalization and I am not ever planning on returning to Memorial Hospital again! Sure, I am glad that I was able to receive the professional help that I needed, but honestly, things could not get any better for me. My divorce has officially been finalized and I have become an active member of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Pastor Tom recently asked me to help out with the youth group as one of the youth leaders and I agreed to do so. It has been an amazing time working with these teens because they are so eager to learn God's word. It has even forced me to dig deeper into His word myself because I need to be well-equipped to handle the questions these inquisitive teens throw at me. Questions concerning the Trinity, how far is too far, and many more are always on these young people's minds. I also really enjoy working with the youth pastor Eric Thompson. He is a bright and energetic man in his forties. He may seem older but he has the stamina of a young twenty-something! Life is good and God is good. My depression has subsided too because of my Prozac. Well, that is part of it anyway. I have to give credit to the abundant grace of Jesus Christ because I feel a lot more at peace. I thought that the divorce would completely crush me, but God got me through it all and now I look forward to everything He has in store for me in the future. I even began talking to this new woman who also volunteers her time as a youth leader. We are not dating currently, but man is she beautiful. Her love for the Lord just radiates off of her. I am planning on asking her out this Sunday at church. I am not going to ask her to go to anything fancy with me though. Maybe just out for a cup of coffee and a bite to eat. I want our first date to be simple. Besides, I cannot afford anything too fancy right now. After all, I am still merely a grocery clerk at King Soopers.
I am standing in front of my mirror rehearsing exactly how I am going to ask Amy out when my phone rings. I decide to answer it quickly. It is Skyler. I actually feel relieved to hear from him.
"Hey, bud," His booming voice appears on the other end "I was wondering if you'd like to go to the movies with me and some of the people from the youth team?" I get excited about this because I've never been asked to go anywhere with anyone really. But, I decide that I want to play it off cool. I ask him what movie are we seeing and he says the new God's Not Dead movie. I actually have been wanting to see that movie, so I say yes.
"Great! It starts at 2pm, so how about we swing by to pick you up at 1:30?" He asks and I check my watch. That is about thirty minutes from now. I agree to the time and we hang up the phone. I quickly decide to get myself ready. I want to look really good in case Amy will be there. The whole time I keep seeing her image in my mind. I cannot seem to stop thinking of her.
The crew show up at my house right away and Skyler is knocking on my door. I answer and he greets me by putting me in a huge bear hug. I am getting quite used to his bear hugs by now. As he lets me go, we begin walking to his car. I see Amy sitting in the backseat and I take my seat right next to her. She smells like lilacs on a beautiful Spring morning. Andrew, the other youth leader, is sitting in the passenger seat. He is wearing a "Real Men Love Jesus" shirt and a MAGA hat too. Amy smiles at me and says hi. Her voice is literally like a song in my head. I smile back at her as I buckle myself in. Skyler starts the car up and he begins driving to the theater.
The line to the movies is a lot longer than I expected it would be. I guess a lot of people were looking forward to seeing the new God's Not Dead movie. As soon as we can purchase our tickets, we head to the room it is playing in. Andrew and Skyler sit on one side and Amy and I sit on the other side. I am relieved to be sitting next to her. I respect Skyler a lot but he tends to be pretty loud and I do not like that. Besides, this gives me more of a chance to talk to Amy. That's really what I want anyway.
After about two and a half hours, the movie finally comes to a close. I found the movie fascinating and yet terrifying. I say fascinating because it was interesting to see the characters react toward government persecution and yet it was terrifying because it seemed to correctly predict the state that our country is in right now. As we are walking out, I ask Amy what she thought, and she basically concurs with my analysis. Skyler tells everyone that we are going for some gelato on him. We get excited about this idea. I love gelato.
As we enter the place called Italian Ice, Amy, Andrew, and I take our seats near the window, and Skyler approaches the front counter.
"Man, that was such a rad movie!" Andrew says and I think it is odd for a man of his age to use words like "rad" in casual conversation. But, then again, who am I to judge? Amy agrees with him, but she laughs at his use of the English language. We begin talking about how persecution is coming to America and how it will weed out the real Christians from the false Christians.
"I ain't scared," Skyler says, as he approaches us with five cups of gelato in his hands, "I am actually ready for the coming persecution because I know that means the Lord will return soon!" When we look confused why he has five cups of gelato, he laughs and says two are for him. He must love gelato more than all of us!
The conversation quickly turns toward relationships and I get nervous because I have not had a serious relationship since I've been divorced. How would a godly woman react to my situation? Would she be understanding or would she not even give me a chance? I know Skyler and Andrew are both happily married and I am happy for them. Amy is single and she has never been in a relationship yet because she says she is saving herself for the right man. She is such a saint!
"Amy, how would you feel about dating a man who is divorced for biblical reasons?" Skyler very bluntly asks and I get terrified by this. Why would he ask her that for? Amy's eyes look to the left for a second as she thinks about that scenario.
"I guess I would not mind, as long as it were biblical. However, I have always thought I'd be with a virgin" She replies and I feel a sense of relief by her answer. Maybe I do have a chance after all. Skyler looks in my direction and smiles. Why is he looking at me for? Does he expect me to ask her out right this very second? I feel really pressured. I do not like to feel pressured.
"Why do you ask, Sky?" Amy calmly asks him and I am glad she does not notice the way he looked at me. Skyler quickly says no reason and continues eating his gelato. We all eat in silence for about five minutes and Amy gets up to go throw away her cup and then use the restroom. Skyler looks in my direction and tells me that now is my time.
"W-what do you mean?" I ask him, but I know what he means. He laughs and tells me that it is obvious I like her.
"Is it really THAT obvious?" I am surprised by this because I thought I hid it well. Andrew tells me that it could not have been any more obvious and Skyler begins mocking how excited I get when I see her. I tell them to calm down and that I will ask her out when she comes out of the restroom. Then, I get up to go throw away my cup. Amy steps out of the restroom. As she walks past me, I say her name quietly. She stops and looks at me with a concerned look on her face. Although I am nervous, I decided that I need to appear confident. Women like confident men.
"Would you care to go out with me for some coffee?" I ask and then follow it up with "Sometime this week, not right now, I mean!" She smiles at me and says that she would love to. She then tells me that she'd thought that I'd never ask her! We give each other a hug and head back to our table only to see Skyler and Andrew cleaning up. Then, we all head back to Skyler's car.
The rest of the time, I feel like I am on cloud 9. I cannot believe that she said yes to me! I am officially going to go on my first date since being divorced. I had honestly believed that I was spoiled goods. Now, I just have to make sure I do not screw things up between us. In the car, I ask Amy if she is available tomorrow at 2pm and she says yes she is. So, I tell her I will pick her up then. I cannot believe my luck! I feel like a giddy schoolgirl. As Skyler stops the car in front of my house, we all say our goodbyes, but Amy says, "I'll see you tomorrow" with a gorgeous smile. I slowly walk to my house while praising the Lord for His goodness and mercy.
To See How Danny's Story Ends, Click Here
-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
I am standing in front of my mirror rehearsing exactly how I am going to ask Amy out when my phone rings. I decide to answer it quickly. It is Skyler. I actually feel relieved to hear from him.
"Hey, bud," His booming voice appears on the other end "I was wondering if you'd like to go to the movies with me and some of the people from the youth team?" I get excited about this because I've never been asked to go anywhere with anyone really. But, I decide that I want to play it off cool. I ask him what movie are we seeing and he says the new God's Not Dead movie. I actually have been wanting to see that movie, so I say yes.
"Great! It starts at 2pm, so how about we swing by to pick you up at 1:30?" He asks and I check my watch. That is about thirty minutes from now. I agree to the time and we hang up the phone. I quickly decide to get myself ready. I want to look really good in case Amy will be there. The whole time I keep seeing her image in my mind. I cannot seem to stop thinking of her.
The crew show up at my house right away and Skyler is knocking on my door. I answer and he greets me by putting me in a huge bear hug. I am getting quite used to his bear hugs by now. As he lets me go, we begin walking to his car. I see Amy sitting in the backseat and I take my seat right next to her. She smells like lilacs on a beautiful Spring morning. Andrew, the other youth leader, is sitting in the passenger seat. He is wearing a "Real Men Love Jesus" shirt and a MAGA hat too. Amy smiles at me and says hi. Her voice is literally like a song in my head. I smile back at her as I buckle myself in. Skyler starts the car up and he begins driving to the theater.
The line to the movies is a lot longer than I expected it would be. I guess a lot of people were looking forward to seeing the new God's Not Dead movie. As soon as we can purchase our tickets, we head to the room it is playing in. Andrew and Skyler sit on one side and Amy and I sit on the other side. I am relieved to be sitting next to her. I respect Skyler a lot but he tends to be pretty loud and I do not like that. Besides, this gives me more of a chance to talk to Amy. That's really what I want anyway.
After about two and a half hours, the movie finally comes to a close. I found the movie fascinating and yet terrifying. I say fascinating because it was interesting to see the characters react toward government persecution and yet it was terrifying because it seemed to correctly predict the state that our country is in right now. As we are walking out, I ask Amy what she thought, and she basically concurs with my analysis. Skyler tells everyone that we are going for some gelato on him. We get excited about this idea. I love gelato.
As we enter the place called Italian Ice, Amy, Andrew, and I take our seats near the window, and Skyler approaches the front counter.
"Man, that was such a rad movie!" Andrew says and I think it is odd for a man of his age to use words like "rad" in casual conversation. But, then again, who am I to judge? Amy agrees with him, but she laughs at his use of the English language. We begin talking about how persecution is coming to America and how it will weed out the real Christians from the false Christians.
"I ain't scared," Skyler says, as he approaches us with five cups of gelato in his hands, "I am actually ready for the coming persecution because I know that means the Lord will return soon!" When we look confused why he has five cups of gelato, he laughs and says two are for him. He must love gelato more than all of us!
The conversation quickly turns toward relationships and I get nervous because I have not had a serious relationship since I've been divorced. How would a godly woman react to my situation? Would she be understanding or would she not even give me a chance? I know Skyler and Andrew are both happily married and I am happy for them. Amy is single and she has never been in a relationship yet because she says she is saving herself for the right man. She is such a saint!
"Amy, how would you feel about dating a man who is divorced for biblical reasons?" Skyler very bluntly asks and I get terrified by this. Why would he ask her that for? Amy's eyes look to the left for a second as she thinks about that scenario.
"I guess I would not mind, as long as it were biblical. However, I have always thought I'd be with a virgin" She replies and I feel a sense of relief by her answer. Maybe I do have a chance after all. Skyler looks in my direction and smiles. Why is he looking at me for? Does he expect me to ask her out right this very second? I feel really pressured. I do not like to feel pressured.
"Why do you ask, Sky?" Amy calmly asks him and I am glad she does not notice the way he looked at me. Skyler quickly says no reason and continues eating his gelato. We all eat in silence for about five minutes and Amy gets up to go throw away her cup and then use the restroom. Skyler looks in my direction and tells me that now is my time.
"W-what do you mean?" I ask him, but I know what he means. He laughs and tells me that it is obvious I like her.
"Is it really THAT obvious?" I am surprised by this because I thought I hid it well. Andrew tells me that it could not have been any more obvious and Skyler begins mocking how excited I get when I see her. I tell them to calm down and that I will ask her out when she comes out of the restroom. Then, I get up to go throw away my cup. Amy steps out of the restroom. As she walks past me, I say her name quietly. She stops and looks at me with a concerned look on her face. Although I am nervous, I decided that I need to appear confident. Women like confident men.
"Would you care to go out with me for some coffee?" I ask and then follow it up with "Sometime this week, not right now, I mean!" She smiles at me and says that she would love to. She then tells me that she'd thought that I'd never ask her! We give each other a hug and head back to our table only to see Skyler and Andrew cleaning up. Then, we all head back to Skyler's car.
The rest of the time, I feel like I am on cloud 9. I cannot believe that she said yes to me! I am officially going to go on my first date since being divorced. I had honestly believed that I was spoiled goods. Now, I just have to make sure I do not screw things up between us. In the car, I ask Amy if she is available tomorrow at 2pm and she says yes she is. So, I tell her I will pick her up then. I cannot believe my luck! I feel like a giddy schoolgirl. As Skyler stops the car in front of my house, we all say our goodbyes, but Amy says, "I'll see you tomorrow" with a gorgeous smile. I slowly walk to my house while praising the Lord for His goodness and mercy.
To See How Danny's Story Ends, Click Here
-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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