On this week’s edition of HopeNet Radio, Kristen returns to talk about things she wishes her parents knew before making a destructive decision that nearly cost her life. Her book, Life In Spite of Me, can be found here.
Podcast: Download
Subscribe & Support the Podcast
Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the podcast for free on iTunes, Stitcher and Tune In Radio! If you like the podcast, support it.
I Wish My Parents Knew… by Kristen Jane Anderson
1. I also wish they had known more about depression, how common it can be, as well as the triggers, the signs, and how easy it is to fall into a depression.
2. That what I needed more than anything was a growing, thriving, relationship with the God who made me.
3. That the youth group they’d brought me to was only a place to have fun and I needed so much more.
4. That I had been raped.
5. That I could hardly understand what I was feeling, or how to put it into words and that asking me questions might have been helpful.
6. That even though they’d taken me to a Christian Counselor she never gave me any spiritual direction or encouragement.
7. That I didn’t really like drinking, sneaking out, smoking and doing all the things I wasn’t supposed to be doing.
8. That one of the reasons I didn’t talk to them more was because I was afraid of punishments, especially with my friends because they’re what were keeping me holding on.
9. That I wanted to make them proud, not worry them.
10. That I was trying to protect them too.
11. That being in school basically complicated my issues. I think it would have helped me if I would have been taken out and put in an intense counseling program.
12. That our family needed to be centered on Christ.
13. That the church we were in was dead and that God wanted so much more for all of us.
14. I also wish they had known the power of God, the Bible, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
15. That I needed someone who knew God pouring into me.
