Here you have, let's say, a company who enlists the aid of citizens to perform certain duties and tasks for a set amount of time and for a contracted rate. After spending nearly $1,000,000 in training, uniforms, equipment issued, and pay...the company then puts these men and women in various dangerous situations where it is likely some will not make it out alive or completely in tact (mentally or physically). After being separated from their loved ones and familiar places, the men and women are expected to return to their company base and given about two weeks worth of time to "regroup" and get back into the groove of things. Some of these men and women are missing actual pieces of themselves and/or some of them are struggling with the job(s) they have performed while away and when they ask for help...they receive it in the form of a pill and a bunch of snide remarks from their peers and leaders. Sure, the company likes to put out memos that asking for help is OK and is encouraged, but everyone on the inside knows it is not that simple. After some time, and a bookoo amount of "happy pills", some of the men and women feel withdrawn. They turn to recreational drugs, alcohol, and even self inflicted pain to help ease the emotional burdens they bear. Because these people give their company a bad name, they are given even more "happy pills" and swept under a rug to keep from making too many waves. This company has taken completely healthy and stable men and women, because of the extensive background checks and so on, and then uses them until their bodies and minds and spirits are so broken down that the slightest comment from a friend.....causes them to make a decision, one they've been contemplating for a while....and this unfortunate person decides that there is no other option....that their pain is completely unbearable and nobody loves them. Jesus isn't even a thought in their mind. This person takes their own life. A life is lost, a tragedy befalls those they leave behind. The company will go through the pomp and circumstance of making sure people see that they "cared" for this person....but those close to the company will know that they are really just putting on an act.
This is the sad reality I live with in the community I am in. People wonder why I preach or talk about God all the time? It is because people, like these men and women, need to know HIM. They need to know that Jesus can pull them from the darkness that looms inside and heal their wounds better than any "happy pill" ever could. We pray for those who are hanging in the balance; sometimes God saves and sometimes He does not. I am reminded of the scripture that reads, "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away."
May the God of peace be with you, touch and bless any of you who have or are experiencing the effects of suicide. To anyone who may be thinking about it: THERE IS HOPE FOR THE HELPLESS. THERE IS ONE WHO CAN AND WILL PROTECT YOU AND KEEP YOU FROM THE DARKNESS. HE LOVES YOU SO MUCH AND IS WAITING WITH HIS HAND OUTSTRETCHED TO YOU.
This is a really heavy post, and I apologize, but I needed to get my feelings out. ~One Sad Mamabear
