May 13. Doctor Verle Bell. Bell is a psychiatrist and an ordained minister who has served in the US Air Force, in community health clinics, in hospitals, and in private practice. He works with all kinds of patients with all kinds of issues, and encourages them to address all the components of their lives: medical, social, and spiritual.
Bell’s missionary childhood in India enabled him to understand the Bible in a particularly helpful way. As he puts it, the tools described in the Bible are the same he saw in India on a daily basis, from oxen treading grain to women grinding food in their mortars and pestles.
He organizes outreaches through his church, through radio counseling programs, through podcasts, and through his writings, including audio recordings and his book: True Freedom. On this date in 1967, Bell was sent away from India with only $10 in his pocket. This is today’s story.
Nobody else may see what you need, but you’re never invisible to God.
Nine-year-old Verle Bell climbed higher in the tall evergreen tree in India. For him, a kid shipped off to boarding school at four years old, the best place to be was 100 feet up. Sitting in the top of the tree, Verle could read the Bible, compose music, and talk to God. On the ground, it was his job to do everything right. To have no needs. To be invisible. And life below was lonely.
Too soon Verle had to climb down. Today was his birthday, and his parents had sent money to the school for a party. He’d invited about ten kids. When he and the other boys arrived at the celebration, treats were on the table. Verle looked for the adult who would host the party. But there wasn’t one.
It didn’t matter that he was nine years old, probably the shyest kid in school, and had no idea how to help all those kids have fun. It was his job to take care of others, even on his birthday.
After the party, Verle wrote to his parents that it would be better if there were no more birthday parties.
Now seventy, Verle said, “I have had a life of intense loneliness.” His struggle with loneliness was compounded by the misperception that personal needs were irrelevant. All that mattered was the ministry one did. It’s how his parents, who were missionaries, had operated.
As Verle grew up and served others as a psychiatrist, he started with the same mindset. But God confronted the lie and showed him that the person—the one who received help and the one who gave it—was what was important.
As God taught Verle, he helped a lot of people. Still, he says the struggle of his life has been “to believe for myself what I give to everyone else. Sometimes I feel like I’ll get to heaven, and God will say, ‘What are you doing here?’”
But God faithfully shows Verle that He sees him, cares about him, and wants to be with him. “God doesn’t see me only as a useful tool to use. He actually likes me,” Verle said. “It makes me cry.”
Once Verle was returning home from vacation. He’d had fun playing with his grandchildren, but they required a lot of energy, and he was tired. He prepared to board his plane, but the flight was canceled. He tried to get on the next flight home, but that plane was full. It looked like he’d be up all night—with three hours to get to work.
Verle thought about how Christians are called the bride of Christ. “I’m your bride, right?” he prayed. “If my bride was stuck in the middle of nowhere, and I had the resources, I’d get her home.” He paused. He knew he was whining. “I’m being silly, Lord. Please give me strength.”
Suddenly Verle’s name was called, and he got on the plane. It was a defining moment—a reminder that Verle was never alone. “The Lord counts the hairs on my head,” said Verle. “When I see that… I am helped.”
Jesus said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows,” (Luke 12:6–8, NIV).
Next time you struggle with loneliness, ask God to help you believe you are not forgotten by Him. Nobody else may see what you need, but you’re never invisible to God.
Bell, Verle. “A Psychiatrist’s Take on the Bible.” Podcast. https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/a-psychiatrists-take-on-the-bible-verle-70oOrPbIQnZ/.
blog. Accessed August 8, 2020.https://verlebellmd.com/2020/04/02/welcome/.
Based on an interview with Dr. Verle Bell by Paula Moldenhauer.
Visit his blog: https://verlebellmd.com/2019/05/28/it-is-i/ For his Youtube presentation, “Taking Charge of Your Mental Well-being,” visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX1gYB1MHQM
Story read by Nathan Walker