Last week during my client rounds for work I arrived at a middle school like a do every Wednesday afternoon. As I entered the school all the faculty and staff greeted me with sorrowful faces. Walking into a classroom didn't offer any different environmental. Before the bell rang for the next class the teacher instructed her students to "Go home and give your loved ones a hug and tell them you love them." My client met up with me in the hall and filled me in. The night before one of his classmates had committed suicide. I was shocked. What could have happened in this 8th graders life that would make him decide that life was not worth living anymore? I do not have the answer to that question and maybe nobody does.
Concerning suicide, I know many people, including some family members that say you can't control what someone else does; they pull the trigger. This may ultimately be true but can we load the bullet? Can we cock the gun?
I believe in most circumstances, not necessarily those dealing with suicide but in general we can always do more. I can always do more. How many times have I ignored a phone call or a text because I didn't feel like dealing with someone else's problems? I might have brushed it off thinking "I have enough in my life, I don't need to deal with anything else". When I'm on the other end of things and am looking for someone else to just exist with me while I'm dealing with my problems, a simple call or text can go a long way. Sometimes all someone needs are simple words and simple actions to help them get by the day. Not a single person in the world had ever made it where they are by themselves. We are where we are as the result of other people, whether positive or negative.
In the Christian world it is so easy to recite a Bible verse to someone or tell them "I'm praying for you". Just remember that somewhere beyond your Bible verses and your "I'm praying for you"s there are actual hurting people that need you to do more.
Galatians 6:2 - "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
