I’ve been reading some series on other sites recently on depression. Did anyone talk about the challenge of mental illness in the process of trying to receive revelation? I’ve been pondering this irony from my own life lately..that sometimes mental illness can get in the way of recognizing the Spirit.

But I’m in a place of clarity right now and one of the things that is amazing me is that my struggles with depression and other things like chronic illness — those things for which I have ached and yearned for a solution — have actually ended up opening up the blessing of having my testimony of personal revelation intensified and expanded. The revelation to which I refer has been more of an unfolding, sometimes over years and years… (even decades!) where layers have (sometimes very!) slowly been removed from my perspective, where people have come into my life (finally, after a lot of struggle) who have been instrumental in helping me start to see and hear and understand answers and recognize God’s hand and tender mercies. Where opportunities or challenges have come that have spurred some of the most intense asking…, etc. Decades of priesthood blessings have started to come together. I don’t like getting older physically, but whoa — seeing decades of struggle weave together and having answers distill and hints of solutions start to unfold. Wow.

I am learning that one of the things that has opened up revelation has been simply the act of not giving up. That sounds so grim sometimes, but really, it’s not nothing to endure. Sometimes answers have come simply by doing my best to stay on the path, with whatever measure of faith I have had.

Anyway, that’s been on my mind a lot as of late.