When diagnosed with a mental illness the first question that pulsed through my mind was "Why!?". I just could not believe thatI had manic depresssive illness and God had not protected me.Why oh why my heart cried! I had believed in a loving God since chidhood and now I questioned His abilities.If God is the manager of all things,how had He so grossly mismanaged my case? Why does God allow suffering.And although greater minds have grappled with these questions ,I needed to find answers for mysef.If I had a chronic life-long illnes, how was I to reconcile this with a lifelong faith in the divine?I must admit that my answer to many questions is "I don't know" But I have some thoughts on the subject.
     God is not the author of suffering.He is a loving God who aides us in our time of troubleSo where do these midnight's of the soul come from? The answer here is an I don't know . what I do know is that,perhaps,difficult times are a vehicle to bring us even closer to God. Perhaps they teach us humility,patience and reliance on a power greater than ourselves.I believe God never promised us an easy road ,but the strength to walk it with Him at our side.