Tag: suicide

Your Life Matters More Than You Know

Trudy Den Hoed18 Comments
Heavenly Raindrops Images
“Being unwanted, unloved,
uncared for, forgotten by everybody,
I think that is a much greater hunger,
a much greater poverty than
the person who has nothing to eat…”
(Mother Teresa)

“You don’t know my past. Let me go! Let me do this!”

A local teenager had enough of this life. He couldn’t stand the pain anymore. He thought his only way out was to jump off a bridge over an interstate to end it all.

God had other plans. Five DOT men were working on the interstate below him. When they saw what he intended to do, some quickly stopped traffic and some caught him. The teen and one man had minor injuries, and the teen was taken to a hospital to get the help he needs.

Thank God for these men who cared. Whose automatic response was to help. One man said the teen kept saying those words.

I’ll never know who this boy is or how he is doing, but he has been heavy on my heart ever since this happened last month. Doesn’t your heart just ache for teenagers who feel so hopeless, alone, and not cared about?

There are so many of them all over the world, many more than we will ever know. A friend once told me that there is an increasing number of teenagers today who call in to Hopeline, because they’re ready to commit suicide. They feel so hopeless, unloved, and worthless. Isn’t that heart-wrenching?

Wherever you are and whatever age you are, please know your life matters to God. Whatever has happened to you or is happening to you, whatever you have done or not done, He cares about you. He feels your pain and His heart breaks for you.

“He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3

Please, Lord!
Draw those who are hurting into Your Hope!
Apply Your healing love to whatever is broken!
Free the captives and give them wings to fly!

Do You Feel Worthless?

The Sadness Behind Suicide

How Can You Tell When Someone Is Suicidal?

If you feel hopeless, unloved, and worthless,
please call Hopeline at 1-800-273-8255.

“Need You Now”
by Plumb

“Well, everybody’s got a story to tell
And everybody’s got a wound to be healed
I want to believe there’s beauty here
‘Cause oh, I get so tired of holding on
I can’t let go, I can’t move on
I want to believe there’s meaning here

How many times have you heard me cry out
“God please take this”?
How many times have you given me strength to
Just keep breathing?
Oh I need you
God, I need you now…”


The Stigma of Mental Illness

Trudy Den HoedLeave a comment

notalone

Why is there often a stigma or shame attached to mental illness, whether caused by nature or lack of nurture? Even Christians sometimes add to a person’s pain, whether by silence and a lack of support or by critical remarks: “Where is your faith?” “Why don’t you just get over it and move on?” “Stop focusing on the bad stuff, and start counting your blessings.” Both silence and criticism can twist a knife in a hurting person’s heart.

Recently Rick and Kay Warren shared intimate details about their son on CNN in an interview with Piers Morgan. Their son, who struggled with personality disorder, committed suicide. They are now on a campaign against the stigma of mental illness.

In his first sermon after his son committed suicide Rick Warren said, “It’s amazing to me that any other organ in your body can break down and there’s no shame and stigma to it,” Warren told the congregation. “But if your brain breaks down, you’re supposed to keep it a secret…. If your brain doesn’t work right, why should you be ashamed of that?”

Why the shame? Why can’t we talk more openly about it without fear of criticism or lack of support if we admit we have depression or some other mental heartache? Our mental faculties were wondrously created just as well as our other organs, and they are equally important to God. And if we as Christians follow Jesus’ example, we will never shrink from or shame an emotionally or mentally ill person. God calls us to love, not to judge.

butterfly

9 Things Not to Say to Someone with Mental Illness

Time to Change: Let’s End Mental Health Discrimination – Tips for Talking

NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness

Mental Illness and the Church: New Research on Mental Health from Lifeway Research

Christians Can’t Ignore the Uncomfortable Reality of Mental Illness

Mental Illness Awareness Week: October 6-12, 2013