A mental health crisis on Moss Park Road
On Monday afternoon a person in our community experienced a mental health crisis. This person threatened to jump off the overpass where interstate 417 crosses over Moss Park Road. Police and first responders worked to help the man and shut down traffic in all directions at this intersection. I am glad to say the man came down safely after roughly five hours, for that we give thanks. As you might imagine, this situation caused a lot of stress beyond just the people who were stuck in traffic.
Our church and Early Learning Center went on a lockdown about 1:30pm as police helicopters flew overhead and the scene was beginning to unfold. Each leader on our team responded calmly and made sure our little ones were not stressed as their parents were delayed in picking them up due to the roads being shut down.
Later in the afternoon a person from the community came to the church asking for someone to join her in praying for the man having a mental health challenge. So, we walked together as close as we could to the intersection and prayed for the man. We prayed for him to remember how loved he is by God and by other people. We prayed that the Holy Spirit would work through the first responders and for healing from the mental health struggle that led up to this painful moment.
As I left the church Monday, I kept thinking about how we respond faithfully to difficult situations like this one. How does the church love people well through a mental health crisis? Turning to scripture, I see the example of Jesus responding with love. In Mark 5:1-20, Jesus takes the time to be with someone experiencing a mental health crisis and asks for his name. Think about that for a second, Jesus had thousands of people clamoring for his time and he chose to spend time with this man.
After spending time with him, Jesus brings healing to the man. Healing is possible! Healing is most often experienced within the context of relational community. Modern medicine can help facilitate our healing and even with the amazing gift of modern medicine we still have a God given need for human relationship.
One of my hopes and prayers is that our church would be a place where people experience healing from all the difficult things we experience. If there is room in the kingdom of God for the Gerasene Demoniac then there is room in the kingdom for everyone no matter what. If you are ever experiencing a mental health challenge or know someone who is, I encourage you to hold on to the hope of Romans 8:38. “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”
