BRAIN INJURY 101: When “Life” Happens
Life changed for everyone the beginning of March 2020. COVID hit and hit hard. Jobs were lost, self-employed people lost opportunity to work, volunteers lost opportunities to serve, children became isolated as they had to school from home. We became isolated from our lives as we knew them before the beginning of March. The general public gained an insight to what a person suffering from a traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder feels. World – “welcome to our world.
Life Happened
I also experienced “life”. And my husband lost work. So, we went home after his art shows were cancelled. It wasn’t a totally bad thing. We hadn’t been home for quite some time, and we had work to do. The yard needed tending, the house needed a new roof and a new paint job. We had neglected so much of this in past springs & summers due to his work schedule.
For grins and giggles
We set to work on the house repairs and for grins and giggles, we put “for sale by owners” signs up on the property, as the neighboring house was for sale and people drove by ours in order to see their’s. We had been talking about selling our home and going full-time in our RV, but our house hadn’t sold in all the times we had it listed. This time would be different. Three couples looked at our house as a result of those signs. The third couple made an offer. We were pleasantly surprised and nervous at the same time. The daunting task was ahead of us to downsize and purge all the items we couldn’t take with us nor wanted to store. My life for nearly three months was put on hold; all that seemed to matter was “the move”.
Life Happened Again
Yet, we did it. Life happened. Items were sold, fruit trees picked, the house painted, the roof repaired, the storage room filled and the motor home packed. At times, my stress level, as well as my husband’s, reached maximum capacity. The effects of my mTBI and his post-concussion syndrome kicked in. It was clash of the titans once again (https://www.pamdepuydt.com/brain-injury-101-clash-of-the-titans/.) Voices were raised, feelings hurt, tears shed, confessions made, and forgiveness granted. The stress of life “happening”.
What do you do when “Life Happens”?
How do you deal with “Life Happening” when it hits you? Do you get anxious, angry, depressed? What is the proper way of handling these issues? King David asked this question when “Life Happened” to him: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?” Psalm 42:11a NKJV. David questioned his own soul at times of despair and depression. David felt much stress he was chased through the wilderness by the armies of King Saul. He would question himself and his soul and the answer was this: “Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.” Psalm 42:11n NKJV
The Answer:
When “life happens” to you, when you can no longer cope with the person who has suffered the TBI or PTSD, or just life in general, do what David did; turn to the One Who refreshes and restores your soul, for it is only in Jesus we find our rest and our peace.
