Yesterday I was rather lighthearted when I mentioned that I can write whatever I want because no one is reading the blog. I have had at least three people tell me that they are reading it, and that doesn’t include my mother. Tonight, I pray that this entry will reach the right person.
Yes, the holiday season can be a time of laughter, love, and excitement. It can also be a time when the loss of loved ones is felt very strongly. Or, perhaps it’s a stressful time due to job loss or financial challenges. Or, perhaps there is relationship trouble, like on Christmas you were in a relationship, but this New Year’s Eve, the one that you planned on kissing at midnight has dumped you.
I will be one of the first to agree with you that sometimes life sucks and that when nothing seems like it’s going right it just hurts like crazy. But, please hear me loud and clear, nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, is bad enough to justify ending your life.
If you are reading this and you feel like no one cares whether you live or die, you are wrong. I love every single person that I have ever met. If you’re not someone I know, which is highly unlikely, given my readership, then you are most likely a friend of a friend, who reposted this. If you breathe air, you are important.
As a Jesus follower, I believe that life is inherently precious. You have been created by a loving God for a unique role and purpose, which will never be fulfilled if your life is ended prematurely. God will take the 💩 of your life and redeem it. We go through stuff, but we’re not alone in our suffering. God is here to get us through our whole life – the good parts and the not so good.
If you are not like me and don’t follow Jesus, so you feel like the above doesn’t apply to you, I respectfully disagree. Science agrees that something started this world and everything is it. Something or Someone started the Big Bang or the spark that caused life to begin. Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, you are alive now. So, the Universe, or Spirit, or whatever decided that the world needed one of you. Who are you to argue with your maker?
I have been to more than one funeral for a person who ended their own life. I have seen for myself the devastation on the faces of parents and siblings. I heard one significant other speak at one of the funerals. This person could hardly speak through their voice shaking and the tears running down their face. Even if it seems like no one cares, someone does. Don’t listen to that ugly voice that says that you would be better off dead, it’s a big fat lie.
I have been in recovery for about twenty months. The incident which prompted me to seek out recovery is not a pleasant story. To make a long story short, for a few hours, I listened to the lie and actually believed it.
My faith played a large part in bringing me back, but it’s also what led me to believe that I would have a better life. That’s true, but not entirely. A partial truth is a lie.
If my life had ended prematurely, I would not be writing this essay, now. I may not save someone else’s life with this. Maybe I just wrote it to remind myself and a few others how precious life is and how much I and everyone else is loved by the Creator.
I hope that 2024 will be your best year. If it’s even marginally upsetting, please message me. I will listen and if you want, pray.
“Now faith, hope, and love remain – these three things – and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
Resources:
https://www.projectsemicolon.com/
https://www.celebraterecovery.com/
988 – National suicide hotline
https://www.jennieallen.com/gooyh
Journey with Monica 