Creating Money Makers: Part 1

When I was in grade school, they taught me math, science, english, history, art, etc.  What they failed to teach me (and what all schools in the US fail to teach) was how to deal with life.  When I had an emergency appendectomy leaving me out of work for 2 weeks and a $64,000 hospital bill with no insurance, what do I do?  How do I support my wife after losing a paycheck?  Where do I get more than 2 1/2 years wages to pay this bill?  When I find myself in a pit of despair without a hope in the world, how did I get there?  How do I get out?  I didn't learn how to deal with these things, neither did I learn any practical tools to aid me in the situations.


So where do we turn to learn such things?  Did I hear someone say "Jesus!"?  Shut up and stop being a know-it-all.  Many people find different places to go when dealing with life.  Some people go to psychiatrists, counselors, the Bible, the church... these are all great places to turn.  But the problem is, these facets are largely looked down upon in our society and greatly misunderstood.


When my wife and I tell people that we are going to counseling, many will seem to be struck with a look of, "Oh, I'm so sorry!"  That's a terrible response!  We should be met with joy and admiration when telling people such news.  We acknowledge that there are means by which we can improve our marriage and glorify God better in it, AND WE'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEM!!!


Now my beef with the stigma of going to a psychiatrist.  We go to the doctor for our physical health, why not go do a doctor for our mental health?!  I'm not gonna post all the statistics here, but please go a Google how common mental illnesses such as bipolar, depression, anxiety, etc. are.  Many people are apposed to mental health medications due to bad experiences or bad stories they've heard.  What many don't understand is treating chemical imbalances isn't like treating strep throat.  There's no exact formula that works for everyone.  Some have terrible reactions to certain meds and some will perform amazingly on the same.  I have experienced this personally and with people around me.


I'm going to take a break here because this post is getting rather lengthy.  I will pick up with Creating Money Makers: Part 2 at a later time.