She wasn't spiritual enough.

She was one of the most nervous people I have ever met.

She wasn’t the "bad nerves" kind of nervous that usually brought patients to the mental health clinic. She was the "I just did something really bad and I’m afraid I’ll get caught" kind of nervous. She asked if there was a back door through which she could leave when the appointment was over. She had managed to not be seen going into a mental health clinic. She was terrified that someone would see her leaving.

You see, no one knew she was there. Her husband the pastor didn’t know she was there. The deacons’ wives didn’t know and the ladies in the WMU didn’t know that she was going to a mental health center. She had been depressed, terribly depressed for a very long time, but as a good pastor’s wife she dressed up and smiled pretty every Sunday and Wednesday. She sang in the choir, cooked casseroles, and taught Sunday school while she thought about killing herself. She hadn’t told anyone.

I asked her why. She said she was a pastor’s wife and people would think she wasn’t spiritual enough. She was probably right.

If a stinky dirty drunk sinner’s house burns, Christians are right there with food, clothes, and shelter. No questions asked. If a typhoon destroys a Muslim village, we’re there. But if a pastor’s wife is depressed and thinking about killing herself…do we even want to hear about it?

The pastor's wife never came back to the clinic. I see her around town sometimes. Her nice clothes and pretty smile make me sad and angry. While Christians argue about whether it is proper to incorporate secular counseling techniques, pastors wives suffer alone and in silence.

What does this have to do with high school psychology from a Christian perspective? Plenty.