Your mental health and well-being is critically important to your overall well-being.
It matters to you. It matters to the people around you. And it matters to God.
Writer Max Lucado says it like this: God “wants not only your whole heart; he wants your heart whole.”
But mental health doesn’t get talked about very much. Maybe that’s because there’s stigma and misunderstanding, and also because some people think that wounds you can see are more important than wounds you can’t see. For example, you can see a broken leg, but you can’t see a bruised mind. Maybe it’s also because it is often hard to diagnose (or comprehend) what happens in the brain.
But just because it’s hard to see something doesn’t mean we should close our eyes.
According to the Canadian Association of Mental Health, by the time they reach 40, fifty per-cent of Canadians will have or have had a mental illness.
Wow.
Maybe you’re the one who’s struggling. If not, I’m guessing it’s someone you care about.
So I want to share my Thanksgiving message from Westminster Church where I’m the pastor. In it I encourage you to be active about your mental well-being, and to take seriously the fact that spiritual well-being is a fundamental part of your overall well-being.
More specifically, I encourage you to consider the role that gratitude plays in mental health—both scientifically and biblically. Because it does.
I offer three down-to-earth practices for you to more intentionally cultivate gratitude in your life.
I hope you take a listen. Do you want to be proactive about your mental health? If so, this is for you.
It’s 25 minutes long. And remember, God wants not only your whole heart; he wants your heart whole.
MatthewRuttan.com 