“I can no longer be quiet”
The numbers of children and young people in the UK experiencing mental health difficulties have risen at alarming rates over the past decade. Around 200 children in an average secondary school in England currently have a mental health problem. Why is this happening? The Covid pandemic seriously affected children and young people when their schools were closed, their education was disrupted and social contact with their peers was limited. Increasing use of social media has increased anxiety levels for many children and young people and even leads some to experience online bullying. Children and young people experience profound loneliness.
Liberty Poole is a former Love Island winner and an “influencer” on TikTok. Liberty, who is 25, told her followers that a year after winning the reality dating competition, she fell into a period of depression. She said, “I was transitioning from my old life into this new life.” To her surprise she found herself attending church alone for the first time in years. When she went to church, she said, “The pastor mentioned influencers – you don’t go to church expecting to hear about influencers!”
Liberty has posted a video to TikTok highlighting the times that “God showed up” in her life. She said, “I’ve never spoken about my faith on here before, the reason being, I’ve honestly never felt worthy enough to. I don’t know the Bible inside out – but I’m at a point in my life where my consistent prayer has been: ‘Lord, show me your will, show me the way.’” Now she says she “can’t keep quiet” about her Christian faith.
Liberty shared that she felt the sermon when the pastor talked about influencers had been a direct call to her heart, “I was so overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit, I cried the whole way home. Wow, that really brought me back to the church!” She went on to say that she found lasting friendship at the church and had felt pulled out of her depression in a similar way to the Israelites being pulled out of the desert in the Old Testament. Liberty said, “It felt like I was going through that depression forever and would never get out of it – but I did, because I just held on to God.” She acknowledges that there may be negative stereotypes around church and Christianity but says, “I’ve got nothing but love in my heart for everyone out there. I’ve been quiet on a lot of things, but I feel like my faith in God is something I can no longer be quiet on.”
by Peter Milsom
