What is hard for people to understand? I would say mental illness. When someone has a broken bone you see a cast and know what’s going on that isn’t the case with a broken mind. A person can look and seem perfectly “normal” and then out of the blue due something erratic and out of character. This is the way of suicides and murder. The “why” question is so prevalent in these cases.
Proverbs 2:3-6New International Version
3 indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Hi there! How is your week going this far? I’m just back from the Thursday prayer meeting – so glad I went. I got to meet a new person and as a group we talked about something we all had in common – a family member committing suicide and mental health. The pain of the loss be it fresh or a few years down the road never really goes away. Time numbs the wounds, faith restores hope. Some day we will see each other again! Mental Health is so hard to understand. It’s not like a broken bone or a one time problem you can just snap your fingers and fix. Suicide attempts are not just attention seeking but a legitimate cry for help.
Along these lines it comes to me to put it out in the cosmos that no matter what life may seem to be someone cares. For example, in a little gathering of four people just today, strangers to you, lifted you up in prayer. Someone cares about you no matter how it may seem. You are not alone! God has shown me this through my family both blood and not.
Exodus 33:14
14 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Psalm 139:7
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
I was happy to see the return of these purple flowers These looked pretty to me Despite the clearing they did along the banks of the canal, there is life!
Matthew 26:41New International Version
41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
*RIP Sinead O’Connor – they haven’t said how she died but I have my suspicions from her history. I hope she has found peace.
From left to right my Grandpa Harold Becker with his brothers Herman and Robert. Robert turned 100 this year!
I am thinking of my Grandpa today. If you knew him he would have brought a smile to your face. He was always cracking jokes and laughing….”put your money where your mouth is kiddo!”
My Grandpa took his own life due to depression after a stroke back in September of 2000. When I found out he had done this I was worried about his soul. I asked God to show me he was alright and some time later I had this dream. I dreamt that my Grandpa was in my body and we danced! We danced with my first husband Ken. Then we told my Grandma who was his ex wife that I would see her on the other side. He told his wife Charlie that he was sorry for what he had done (taking his own life). Then we tripped and Grandpa popped out of my body. The next thing I saw was him way off in the distance preparing to go into a church. He yelled “there is life after death if you believe in Jesus Christ!” Then I woke up. That dream helped me so much!
I miss my Grandpa but feel certain he is ok. There has always been this belief that if you take your own life you are either going to hell or purgatory. The dream I had seemed to show something else. My Grandpa served God most of his life as a Pastor but after my Mom took her own life he really questioned everything he knew. I believe he lost his faith. He was so tormented about her death. I can remember as a little girl in the dining room of my house in Sioux Falls sitting with Grandpa and his just looking at me and sobbing “I’m so sorry!” I think he gave up on God but God didn’t give up on him. I don’t think my dream was just a coincidence. I asked God if Grandpa was ok and the answer was that he was. He just needed a little help!
“Open my mind God so that I might see that the path is short between you and me.”
To be 