I am sitting in my office at home, listening to a little bluegrass play in the background to help me think and I have to say something. We have lost another man to suicide today. A pastor I don't know other than by reputation and his Twitter account that I follow, took his life last night. His struggle was his own. He was in more pain than he could bear any longer. Depression fed him the lies of our enemy and he saw no other way out. This has to stop now. We, the men of our communities, have to make a stand. We have to reach out to our brothers in our community and tell them that there is no shame in struggling with these thoughts. We have to share the news that there is relief from the pain and we have to stop allowing suicide to be a dirty word that no one wants to talk about in public. If we have to, we should be shouting this from the rooftops. This is where it ends, this is where we have to draw a line on the ground and say no further.
We have to teach our sons that it is ok to talk to other men about the things that plague us. We have to stop living a life in the shadows. Mental health and depression in men is something that no one wants to talk about and frankly, it makes me sick. Sharing the feelings you carry isn't weak or soft. It doesn't make you less than a man. As someone that deals with anxiety and depression, this is something that I used to be afraid to speak about or share with others. There aren't many in my circle that know how bad it has gotten for me but that is why the past few letters I have written on my blog, I have shared some of the things that I have experienced while dealing with these feelings for the last 40 years. These feelings of darkness and solitariness have caused me to think and do things that I probably wouldn't ever have considered before. While I would like to say I am delivered from it, it is still there, lurking around the corner, waiting for me to take my eyes off the things that are most important in my life. The things that make me get up every morning.
Today is Suicide Awareness day in America. Yet we still avoid it. We don't discuss it openly. We don't talk about what led those to take their lives so that we can educate others and quite possibly help someone that is struggling. We are so guarded that we allow this monster to hide in the dark. We have to pull back the curtains and shed light on this for the sake of our generations of young people that come behind us. We have to show them a better path. We have to be able to stand up in front of the crowd and tell others that we are Christians and we just so happen to struggle with anxiety and depression. We have to admit that we have thoughts of a world that doesn't include us living in it. It exists, why is that so hard for us to say?
I am not telling you that loving and serving Christ will remove these problems or cure the feelings of depression or the other things we suffer with but what Jesus does offer us is the comfort we need and compassion beyond anything we can hope to experience here on earth. While there are no quick fixes - other than a deliverance by God - the scriptures tell me that you can be set free. The best advice I can give you is to find someone you can talk to. Someone that you can share your feelings with that will acknowledge the hurt and help to shed light on the darkness that you live in. Then make the decision to study God's Word daily so that you spend time thinking about the One who is bringing you out rather than thinking about what has you in bondage.
Brother or sister, there is hope out there. Don't allow the darkness to win. If you know someone that has taken their life, don't allow suicide to have the last word about their life. Use the experience to shed light on the areas that we as a society refuse to talk about. We have to do a better job!
We have to teach our sons that it is ok to talk to other men about the things that plague us. We have to stop living a life in the shadows. Mental health and depression in men is something that no one wants to talk about and frankly, it makes me sick. Sharing the feelings you carry isn't weak or soft. It doesn't make you less than a man. As someone that deals with anxiety and depression, this is something that I used to be afraid to speak about or share with others. There aren't many in my circle that know how bad it has gotten for me but that is why the past few letters I have written on my blog, I have shared some of the things that I have experienced while dealing with these feelings for the last 40 years. These feelings of darkness and solitariness have caused me to think and do things that I probably wouldn't ever have considered before. While I would like to say I am delivered from it, it is still there, lurking around the corner, waiting for me to take my eyes off the things that are most important in my life. The things that make me get up every morning.
Today is Suicide Awareness day in America. Yet we still avoid it. We don't discuss it openly. We don't talk about what led those to take their lives so that we can educate others and quite possibly help someone that is struggling. We are so guarded that we allow this monster to hide in the dark. We have to pull back the curtains and shed light on this for the sake of our generations of young people that come behind us. We have to show them a better path. We have to be able to stand up in front of the crowd and tell others that we are Christians and we just so happen to struggle with anxiety and depression. We have to admit that we have thoughts of a world that doesn't include us living in it. It exists, why is that so hard for us to say?
I am not telling you that loving and serving Christ will remove these problems or cure the feelings of depression or the other things we suffer with but what Jesus does offer us is the comfort we need and compassion beyond anything we can hope to experience here on earth. While there are no quick fixes - other than a deliverance by God - the scriptures tell me that you can be set free. The best advice I can give you is to find someone you can talk to. Someone that you can share your feelings with that will acknowledge the hurt and help to shed light on the darkness that you live in. Then make the decision to study God's Word daily so that you spend time thinking about the One who is bringing you out rather than thinking about what has you in bondage.
Brother or sister, there is hope out there. Don't allow the darkness to win. If you know someone that has taken their life, don't allow suicide to have the last word about their life. Use the experience to shed light on the areas that we as a society refuse to talk about. We have to do a better job!
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