Let’s face it: we were duped by the culture that raised us. The ideas that we swim around in are wreaking havoc. As we match them up against the biblical truths of the gospel, we see how they ring hollow. Like the alluring but destructive creatures in Greek mythology, self is a Siren. We are indeed attracted to ourselves. But rooting ourselves in ourselves has led to our ruin.

We Are in the ER, and We Need an Accurate Diagnosis

At one point in my early parenting years, I had three daughters ages three and under. Whatever madness you’re picturing is accurate. During that season of crazy I got a sore throat that wouldn’t let go. I was downing Advil multiple times a day to keep the soreness, swelling, and fever at bay. But after a few days, the swelling got to the point that I was having trouble breathing. So I did what any mom of young children would do: I drove myself to the emergency room. It was simply easier to leave the kids at home with my husband than to have him drive the whole family to the hospital.

I parked my car and went inside the ER expecting to wait for hours to be seen. Instead, after answering a few questions, I was whisked behind a curtain and started receiving treatment. The doctor on duty was clearly alarmed.

I heard her call my husband, “Sir, your wife is very sick. She won’t be home anytime soon. We’ll be giving her intravenous antibiotics and possibly inserting a trach tube. She’ll be in ICU, so come down here when you can.” I got morphine for the pain and slipped in and out of awareness of my surroundings for the next few days.

Clearly, I had misdiagnosed my sore throat. What initially felt like a small hassle grew and grew until it was actually a life-threatening crisis. The Advil wasn’t going to cut it. What I thought was a cold was actually an aggressive infection closing my throat. My uneducated misdiagnosis put my family and me in peril.

A misdiagnosis for understanding the current mental and emotional health crisis for women in the West will do the same thing. We cannot simply pop a few Advil if we’re going to have any hope of coming out of this crash we’re in.

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