Kay Warren, the wife of megachurch pastor Rick Warren, recently shared a vision she says God gave her after her son committed suicide.
Rick and Kay Warren’s 27-year-old son Matthew had threatened suicide multiple times before killing himself nearly four years ago. He suffered from mental illness and possibly even a personality disorder.
The Warrens are now staunch advocates for people with mental illness, and this mission to help those suffering from such illnesses perhaps was inspired by a vision Kay Warren had shortly after her son’s death.
"Not long after our son, Matthew, died, I had a vision in prayer. I don't regularly see visions, so this was unusual," Warren shared in a Facebook post.
Charisma News shares the rest of Warren’s post:
“In my mind's eye, I pictured the Worship Center at Saddleback full of people who are living with a mental illness—depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, an eating disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia—or any other mental illness that was making life challenging. Everyone in the room was reaching out to God without having to pretend that life felt okay—some people were crying, others wrapped themselves around a large wooden cross, some were praying, some were offering hugs to others—but all felt safe to bring their pain and their sorrow to God. Then I saw laughter—the kind of laughter that comes when others walking a similar life-path talk about the shared, common ups as well as downs, the moments of absurdity and humor in living with a mental illness. In my vision, hope began to rise. Hope for no more isolation. Hope for better days ahead. Hope for relationships with others who truly "get" what it's like to live with a mental illness. Hope for acceptance and a place to belong. Hope for today ... for tomorrow. And the day after that.”
Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com
Publication date: February 23, 2017
