Suicide. I hate this word. I hate this word like I hate cancer. The pain it invokes deep inside of my soul is gut wrenching. It makes my stomach turn and my mouth dry. I can't fix it. And I'm a fixer. I can't provide the one thing that we all need to push forward. HOPE. Somewhere, somehow, hope has been lost and we are not giving it back.
Suicide is taking people from us. It is not a selfish act. It is, in fact, one of the most unselfish. It is someone saying to the rest of the world, "I will not be a burden to anyone else, for any longer". It is not prejudice and does not care about your economic status, your color, your religion, your sexuality, your age, your anything. It. Will. Take. Anyone.
How do we fight against it? I don't know. Here's how we don't: we don't tell people suffering that they just "need more Jesus". We don't tell people with cancer that. So don't tell someone with depression that. We can't just point to the Bible without being willing to get messy with people and walk through the storm with them. We don't tell kids that "in our day, we just did it this way". Things have changed. People have changed. We need to change our approach. Don't say kids are just disrespectful today. Of course they are. We aren't trying to respect them where they are.
Suicide isn't just about kids. It's about everyone. It's touching everyone. It isn't just the person that is obviously suffering with depression. It is the outgoing, well-connected person in your community.
It's exhausting to walk into schools and communities over and over seeing the grief stricken faces of students, faculty and families. It's frustrating to have no answers, no words of comfort, and seemingly no way to stop the madness. How do we help people know they are valuable? How do we help remind them that there is hope in this world? Especially when you turn on the television or social media and you are bombarded with the fear being put into you by all of the evil in this world.
I hold onto my faith. I believe in God. I recognize that not everyone has that and what we hold onto looks different for each of us. But for me, there is God. There is an unshakeable faith knowing that I have been saved. My sins are forgiven and though I will never ever be perfect, I am loved in the most perfect way. I believe that the same power that rose Jesus from the grave lives in me and I am able, no, responsible to share that love with everyone I meet. I don't expect that everyone has nor understands my story, nor do I understand theirs. It is my privilege to listen. To love them, no matter what. To hear them. To listen for their needs. To point out their strengths, because we all have them. And to keep loving them, no matter what I hear.
I have an unbelievably strong support system and I'm blessed there. Not everyone has that. But why can't they? Why can't we reach out to everyone and offer support? And be persistent and unconditional in that support? Because they won't accept it? That in itself is unacceptable. People who need the most love and support are those that don't realize it, don't recognize it, and seemingly don't want it. We all NEED it. We all should be responsible for providing it to each other. Without judgment. Without conditions. That's the humane thing to do. That's what will save lives. Show love. Bring about Hope. And that's what we need to survive.
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