Introduction – Tell us a little about yourself.
Hi there! My name is Dina, but those who know me really well call me “Dee.” I’ve lived in Ohio, Florida, New York, and Texas, but I’m currently living’ it up with the parents in “The Land” where I grew up. I’m the youngest of four girls, an aunt to three nephews and three nieces, a graduate of Liberty University, and a single-twenty-something doing her best each day to follow Jesus through the highs and lows. I have been an author of a blog called “For the Times In-Between,” and I have a passion for writing words that move people towards Jesus and His Word in between hard times and their healing.
Share about a hard season you have walked in your life.
At the end of 2022, I hit a wall mentally and emotionally. I spiraled down a dark road of depression, which included many instances of suicidal thoughts. I felt the most hopeless I have ever been. I prayed and read the Bible and prayed some more, but to be honest, it wasn’t the immediate fix I desperately wanted. I struggled getting out of bed every day and doing normal tasks. I struggled driving because I would have thoughts of skirting off the road and ending the pain I was feeling. I would walk into the bathroom and see the bottle of pain pills beckoning me to take one too many. I would walk past the knives in the kitchen, and images flashed across my mind of me releasing all the built-up tension, bleeding out the darkness that just wouldn’t let go of its grip on me.
To say the least, I was scared and wondering if this road would ever end, or if any sign of relief would come in any shape or form. I was confused why God would allow me to get here if He truly did have a hope and future planned for me (Jeremiah 29:11). Like Asaph in Psalm 73, I wondered if I had followed Jesus my whole life just to have it all end in a tragedy of feeling worthless and numb. Did I read my Bible every day for nothing? Was I pursuing a life of purity for no reason? Was I involved in ministry and trying to encourage people toward Jesus for me just to give up and miss out on the abundance of His grace ahead? I was anxious and embarrassed and wanted someone to tell me the secret formula to get out of the murky water I was drowning in. Weeks went by and it felt like the lying voices of the principalities of darkness were taunting me day and night. Up until that point in my life, I never knew the life-or-death power of mental and spiritual battles. But there I was, earnestly asking God to help me; desperately, daily, directly pleading with the King of the universe.
What did God show you during this season?
Where do I begin? He’s still teaching me as I still struggle with dark thoughts. But during those few months, I started intense therapy and God used my counselor along with friends and family members’ support to help me walk through one of the darkest valleys. He showed me it’s okay to simply listen to worship music because that was all I had strength to do to connect with Him. He taught me through Psalm 23 He will indeed prepare a table for me in the face of my enemies, and all I need to do is sit down and keep my eyes focused across the table at Him. The enemy’s lies are loud, but God’s voice is greater – it defines who I am. A storm may be raging inside me, but my Captain has never left the ship, and He will always steer me safely to shore.
He showed me it’s okay to do the bare minimum and allow Him to help me rest in the green pastures of His grace because it is enough, and He will lead me beside still waters filled with the comfort of His near presence.
How did God provide protective care during this season?
During that dark season, it felt like relief would never come, but eventually it did. It takes work – hard work plus surrender. Taking one step after the other. I never attempted taking my own life, praise God, and I don’t take that grace for granted. But even if you have tried, don’t condemn yourself. We cannot outrun His help and guidance. God provided a wonderful therapist for me to connect with and talk through my struggles alongside. I discovered a lot about my personal mental obstacles and practical ways to cope when I feel the darkness closing in.
Asking for help is not weakness, it is the one of the greatest acts of bravery to bring what’s hidden into the light. A major part of God’s protective care is using His people to help more of His own. I wouldn’t be here without seeking support from a professional and those around me.
What scripture(s) encouraged you during this season?
Psalm 23 was my spiritual food and water during that time, and now it’s deeply personal to me. I love how verse 4 says, “even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me,,” because the promise there is we WILL get through it. Guaranteed. He never leaves us in the valley, but guides us through it for a purpose, giving us everything we need along the way.
Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “we are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
As God’s children, we have authority to say “no” to every false lie the enemy throws our way and make it obedient to what Jesus says is true. Because the power that raised Him from the dead lives inside His own. We get to use that power and we must use these mighty weapons to claim the victory Jesus has already won.
What encouragement do you have for others that may be walking through this season?
Don’t give up. I know how easy it is to want to lose hope when the darkness convinces you there’s no other option. But I’m here to tell you, this won’t last forever, and the light is still breaking through. Relief is coming. The greatest comforter is with you in the shadows. And just like He’s done since the beginning, He will take the broken pieces you’re carrying and make it into something beautiful again. Keep going, one step in front of the other. One praise song after the other. One silent prayer after the other. One verse after the other. One day after the other. The Cross has the final word over your life, and that means you are worthy, filled with purpose to leave a trail of the Kingdom wherever you walk, and God is not done writing your story.
Are there any books or resources that were helpful during this season?
My number one book recommendation is “Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table” by Louie Giglio. It completely transformed the way I look at my mental battles and how God is actively involved in them.
The song “In Jesus Name” by Katy Nichole was on repeat when I drove anywhere. Speaking or singing His name out loud has power in the spiritual battlefield!
Connect with Dina!