I’ve been thinking a lot about my job and how it is often perceived by people when I share what I do. I do a job that many people don’t know exist until I tell them, honestly up until about a year and a half ago I didn’t know it existed either, let alone would I have thought God would’ve placed me here. 

I am a Qualified Mental Health Professional. I am a caseworker for people with Serious Mental Illnesses (SMI). I work with people who have schizophrenia, Schizoaffective disorder, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, PTSD, anxiety, mood disorders, the list goes on  and on. When I tell people this I often get the same reaction, and to be honest it was once my reaction too. Its the reaction of a slight gasp and face of concern for my well being. The reaction only intensifies when I share that not only do I see these people, but I am in their houses everyday. This reaction is why I share what I share today. 

We often hear the wild stories of what these clients go through and feel sad for them or maybe even fear them. But many of us will never even come close to truly understanding what it is that they experience.

Many of us will never know what it is to feel like we have to move the entire earth just to get out of bed. 

Many of us will never know what it is to have an voice in our minds that is not our own speaking to us and telling us horrible things about ourselves. 

Many of us will never know what it is to feel like everyone around us is out to get us.

Many of us will never know what it is to be so crippled by our trauma that the simplest thought of going outside brings us to our knees. 

Many of us will will never know. 

But this is not my whole job. In my job I get to see the darkest moments in peoples lives, but I also get to celebrate the sweetest moments. 

I get to celebrate them being able to get out of bed and put on fresh clothes. 

I get to celebrate the voices being a little quieter today because the medicines working.

I get to celebrate someone being able to sit on their porch and wave to their neighbors in confidence. 

I get to celebrate someone walking 10ft past their mailbox. 

I get to dance in the living room like no one’s watching along side someone because music is the only thing that helps. 

I get to celebrate. 

So yes, my job is a lot. It’s heavy and can be exhausting, but it’s also the biggest honor that I feel God has given me. He has given me the chance to love his people. He has given me the chance to love the people that many people cast aside because of fear or uncertainty. I once told my supervisor this:

“I truly believe that if Jesus was here today these would be the people he would be talking to and loving well.”

Jesus calls us to love the outcast, the hurting and the lonely. 

So I just encourage you next time you are driving down the road and you see someone talking to themselves or someone at the store who seems afraid to stand near anyone. Just remember they deserve to be loved too. And there are many people that you see everyday who have these same diagnoses and you would never know.