A friend told me the news tonight and it seemed unreal. Another life gone. Another family mourning. Another daughter being left- torn apart on the inside- scars that seem like they may never heal.
My heart breaks and I mourn. I mourn for the loss of a great American icon. I mourn the loss of my own daddy. I mourn the friends who have been lost. Suicide is SO Positively hurtful, harmful and hard, yet it affects so many. Everyday.
Every time I hear another high profile suicide death, my heart feels shattered again. The feeling of worthlessness, of hopelessness, anger, and confusion creep back from those dark, dusty shadows that they've been hiding in. The grief overwhelms once more, and my heart hurts. Just aches .
I've been in that pit of no light- the darkness is deafening there. The blackness consumes. The silence is wicked. The isolation is too much to bear.
When. When will we (as a society) begin to see that mental illness is real? It's victims are our friends, neighbors and children. The it causes pain is real. When will their heart hurts become our heart hurts? When we decide that we will no longer silently judge those who struggle. When we decide to love people enough to be real with them and allow realness in return from them. When it is no longer seen as crazy when someone makes a cry for help. When we can talk about the darkness freely and ask someone for a hand without shame. When we no longer feel like we need to walk around with a smiling mask to hide the tears streaming down in our souls.
People, I am begging you. Every single suicide is preventable. That dark place- you're alone there. But none of us have to be alone. So please, love someone today. Take the time to talk to that person who needs to talk. Or sit by the one who weeps. No judgement. Just love. See sadness in the eyes of another? Don't pretend it's not your business. Point them to hope. Show them the light. Give them your hand so they can follow you out of the darkness.
I've had the pleasure of studying through the book of Job this summer. It's been eye opening and thought provoking, and heart wrenching and I never thought I'd get so much from it. God was there in the midst of all of Job's loss. And so were his friends... and we don't want to be friends like that. Nagging, judging, hurting. The man that lost it all lost his last shred of dignity when his friends began the shame game.
We are called to be so much more. Healers. Peacemakers. Love.
If we work on this together we will change the stigma of depression- it claims waaaay to many lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment