My Teacher’s Not The Same
After what Maria went through with her traumatic experience, it’s only normal for her to be suffering shock. The problem is her condition is worsening. Life does not hold any significance for her right now. Working, spending time with family, or doing whatever else are only ways to pass the time and don’t have any significance. One action or activity is exactly the same as another and she does not have a desire to do anything. Her robbery was the last straw in a series of events that broke her.
Like almost any Argentine, her solution is to visit a psychiatrist. (They have the most shrinks per capita of anywhere in the world). I will be the first to admit ignorance when it comes to mental health treatment. There are plenty of good doctors and medicines that offer relief to many people. But I can’t help but feel frustrated knowing that more than anything she needs God. She knows I am a Christian and we talk about this frequently. Yet I have a sense of impotence trying to help her. First of all, my Spanish is greatly improved, but limited. Secondly, she is a woman who suffered at the hands of men, and I am obviously a man. Also, she is my friend, yet our relationship is not that close. And most difficult of all, these situations simply take time. Please pray with me that God would use this difficulty to bring her to repentance and restore her life.
I don’t want to sound cold, but after returning from Patagonia, I’m considering not resuming classes with Maria. I feel for her and want to help her very badly. And if I am to be a part of this process, I want the wisdom to know how to help her. However, I cannot continue taking classes when she is in this current mental state. She’s distracted and depressed and our classes are suffering. Before it was fun and she would laugh and smile a lot more. Now it’s more awkward. When I make mistakes, sometimes she notices and corrects me and other times I don’t even know if she’s paying attention.
Kyle, I pray that God opens your mouth to speak life to her, words in season that will go directly to her heart. I know He has already used you to plant seeds in her life and draw her closer to the kingdom.
So…do you think Christians shouldn’t see psychiatrists?
I have no problem whatsoever with Christians seeing psychiatrists. What is difficult in this situation is Maria is asking the questions “Why am I even alive?” or “What is the reason for my existence?” She even used the phrase “spiritual emptiness.” These go beyond the realm of the mental health community. If one ultimately believes in an infinite Creator, meaning can only be found in the One who gave them existence. If not, answers are much harder to come by and life is often a chasing after the wind.