2. Anxiety

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Anxiety hit me as a teenager. I worried about grades, relationships, and a million things. But most of all, I was terrified that I wasn’t good enough for God.

Worrying left me exhausted and in a lot of pain, so I went to doctor after doctor asking for tests to find out if I was physically sick. But the tests were always negative. I didn’t know what anxiety was, so I didn’t ask the doctors for help.

All through college, I struggled. I couldn’t understand how other people had energy to spare. Then in my first job after school, I met Gary Parks, and he was just so...happy. He wasn’t afraid of what other people thought. He wasn’t crushed under a load of guilt. And he seemed safe – someone I could talk to.
One day, when I felt like I’d hit rock bottom, I got on the phone and asked Gary for help. He said yes. After a medical workup, he sat with me as I learned to confront my anxious thoughts. And as a pastor, Gary helped me realize that God loved and accepted me the way I am.

Thanks to one safe person, I was finally able to heal. And you can too, I am sure of it. The weight, the pain– you don’t have to live like this. God wants you, and me, to be free.

- Rachel