I couldn’t sleep yet again—my mind and body writhing with anxiety and loneliness. I am no stranger to either. I was never fully conscious of how often it was present. But now that I am aware, I wield the same weapon as when I battle through depression—the Word of God. It is my mantra. Yes, my incantation. Here the spirit reminds me all that He has ever told me about Jesus and I am renewed. It’s almost as if my head is being pulled out of the sand and I gasp for air and the tightness in my chest loosens up. You know the feeling you get after you have been underwater holding your breath too long and you are striving to reach the surface? Well for me, the Word is that first inhalation I take when reaching the "top". Nothing will ever compare to it. 

This particular evening, the spiritual hypoxia was causing my chest to cave in. So I swam to the surface as quickly as could be, searching my mind for a verse that was familiar. I needed that tightness to...