Mind Out of Control

Dealing with ADD as a Christian

By Seminarian Dustin Anderson

The pesky little housefly zips through the classroom unnoticed by the students busily working on their math lesson—except for one. In the back corner of the room, the fly gains the attention of Zack, who was already gazing out the window daydreaming about anything and everything. In his head, there flashed the wonders of yesterday’s hot dish during lunch, tonight’s basketball game, the dread of having to sit through another Wednesday of catechesis, and the question of whether or not Jamie really winked at him in the hall between classes.

For most, none of this would be a big deal, but not for Zack. He has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). None of what he is thinking about or experiencing is abnormal, but Zack can’t control any of it. Everything is a potential distraction: the fly, the rustling of the leaves outside, the buzzing of the lights above him, even silence itself. You see, even when there is silence, the random thoughts of his mind are distracting him from whatever it is he is suppose to be doing. It is a real problem. It is a problem that he can’t completely fix by himself.

Medically speaking, ADD is considered a mental illness, but this doesn’t mean that those with it are to be put in a straightjacket and locked up. They have a disorder, and just like we would not blame someone for being born with diabetes, we are not to blame them either for having ADD. Nor are we to think that they are weaker or less capable than someone without the disorder. To think like that would be like thinking Jerome Bettis is a weaker football player because he has asthma. How Zack got ADD is unknown. It could have been a number of things, but the reality is that he has it. For some with this disorder, a daily routine can be very helpful in teaching how to manage the symptoms, but sometimes this isn’t enough. For those who need more help, there are medications. Just like those who use insulin or an inhaler, those who use medication to control their ADD are not to be looked down upon either.

In the grand scheme of things, ADD is itself only a symptom of a deeper and greater problem. We are sinners, and because we are sinners, things are far from the way they should be.We all have our problems. But Christ came into the world to endure all things, and because of His innocent suffering and death for us, what we endure does not even compare to the blessings we have in Christ’s gift of forgiveness. For it is in the forgiveness of sins that we have the promise of the resurrection of this now sinful body. This body will be made perfect on the Last Day, just as Christ’s body is perfect.

In the meantime, we can, with Zack, find comfort in the words of Christ to St. Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness,” (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV). The body is weak and the battle is difficult, but as the thorn of ADD remains in Zack’s side, the strength of Christ, found in His Word and Holy Sacraments, keeps him ever secure in Christ’s saving arms.

The realities of Christ’s redeeming work touches each of us in our lives, no matter what our ailment is. As we live in a fallen and broken world, Christ comes to us and touches us with His Word in Baptism, in the sermon, in Holy Absolution, and in His body and blood. In these mysteries of God, we receive the forgiveness of all our sins. This is the medicine we all need and have in Jesus.

Seminarian Dustin L. Anderson is in his fourth year of study at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN. He lives each day, as one only can, in Christ’s forgiveness. His e-mail address is mrlawgospel@hotmail.com.