Laura’s Story
I would love to say this all came from me, but the reality is that I could never have stayed this strong by my own strength. Just because I am a Christian does not mean to say I don’t feel what others feel, in fact, since getting Alopecia I have struggled with anxiety, guilt, stress, panic attacks and even lack of confidence.
I would love to be able to say that anyone can come to me to find happiness, but that would be unrealistic. Therefore, the Bible tells us in Psalm 43:4 that God is the “…source of all (our) joy.” The source of something is where it originates and is obtained from. God is telling us that not only does joy come from Him but also that it cannot be obtained anywhere else apart from Him. In addition to this, the Bible describes God’s promises as a “firm and steady anchor for our souls” (Hebrews 6:19). The soul is being where our feelings and emotion come from.
God created us to have relationship with Him, to depend on Him and to need Him, because dependence on anything else cannot last and doesn’t bring lasting joy.
From illnesses, to financial crises, family problems, relationship break ups, natural disasters and even pandemic, everyone will face challenges in this life. When I was twenty-three years old, I developed a condition called Alopecia, where I lose my hair in random patches around my head. Lots of people have told me how much this would have destabilised them and are amazed at the confidence I still have. I would love to say this all came from me, but the reality is that I could never have stayed this strong by my own strength. Just because I am a Christian does not mean to say I don’t feel what others feel, in fact, since getting Alopecia I have struggled with anxiety, guilt, stress, panic attacks and even lack of confidence.
However, because I know that my strength is found in the Lord and not in myself, I cast my cares up to my Father in heaven and in return he gave me peace to be able to manage all those emotions. I let God take over. I still got counselling, and I implemented other strategies to help manage the new changes in my life, but as a great minister of God once said, “Therapy is strategy and prayer is a weapon!”.
Although I was seeking the physical help, I knew that one day my counselling sessions would be over and there would be something else I needed to depend on, something stronger than even counselling itself.’
After hearing Laura’s testimony, my personal reflection is that I need more of what she’s talking about. I personally feel that even though I cannot relate to Laura’s health problems and experiences from the same level. I can however see correlations between my life and hers and definitely needed a firm foundation within my life to get me through them. I hope that this message has encouraged you. Laura also has a blog and Podcast called Kingdom Citizen if you’d like to find out more.
