Suicide

Read a post on Suicide:

"Wanna kill yourself? Imagine this. You come home from school one day. You’ve had yet another horrible day. You’re just ready to give up. So you go to your room, close the door, and take out that suicide note you’ve written and rewritten over and over and over You take out those razor blades, and cut for the very last time. You grab that bottle of pills and take them all. Laying down, holding the letter to your chest, you close your eyes for the very last time. A few hours later, your little brother knocks on your door to come tell you dinners ready. You don’t answer, so he walks in. All he sees is you laying on your bed, so he thinks you’re asleep. He tells your mom this. Your mom goes to your room to wake you up. She notices something is odd. She grabs the paper in your hand and reads it. Sobbing, she tries to wake you up. She’s screaming your name. Your brother, so confused, runs to go tell Dad that “Mommy is crying and sissy won’t wake up.” Your dad runs to your room. He looks at your mom, crying, holding the letter to her chest, sitting next to your lifeless body. It hits him, what’s going on, and he screams. He screams and throws something at the wall. And then, falling to his knees, he starts to cry. Your mom crawls over to him, and they sit there, holding each other, crying. The next day at school, there’s an announcement. The principal tells everyone about your suicide. It takes a few seconds for it to sink in, and once it does, everyone goes silent. Everyone blames themselves. Your teachers think they were too hard on you. Those mean popular girls, they think of all the things they’ve said to you. That boy that used to tease you and call you names, he can’t help but hate himself for never telling you how beautiful you really are. Your ex boyfriend, the one that you told everything to, that broke up with you.. He can’t handle it. He breaks down and starts crying, and runs out of the school. Your friends? They’re sobbing too, wondering how they could never see that anything was wrong, wishing they could have helped you before it was too late. And your best friend? She’s in shock. She can’t believe it. She knew what you were going through, but she never thought it would get that bad… Bad enough for you to end it. She can’t cry, she can’t feel anything. She stands up, walks out of the classroom, and just sinks to the floor. Shaking, screaming, but no tears coming out. It’s a few days later, at your funeral. The whole town came. Everyone knew you, that girl with the bright smile and bubbly personality. The one that was always there for them, the shoulder to cry on. Lots of people talk about all the good memories they had with you, there were a lot. Everyone’s crying, your little brother still doesn’t know you killed yourself, he’s too young. Your parents just said you died. It hurts him, a lot. You were his big sister, you were supposed to always be there for him. Your best friend, she stays strong through the entire service, but as soon as they start lowering your casket into the ground, she just loses it. She cries and cries and doesn’t stop for days. It’s two years later. The whole school talks to a counselor/therapist at least once a week. Your teachers all quit their job. Those mean girls have eating disorders now. That boy that used to tease you cuts himself. Your ex boyfriend doesn’t know how to love anymore and just sleeps around with girls. Your friends all go into depression. Your best friend? She tried to kill herself. She didn’t succeed like you did, but she tried…your brother? He finally found out the truth about your death. He self harms, he cries at night, he does exactly what you did for years leading up to your suicide. Your parents? Their marriage fell apart. Your dad became a workaholic to distract himself from your death. Your mom got diagnosed with depression and just lays in bed all day. People care. You may not think so, but they do. Your choices don’t just affect you. They affect everyone. Don’t end your life, you have so much to live for. Things can’t get better if you give up. I’m here for absolutely anyone that needs to talk, no matter who you are. Even if we’ve NEVER talked before, I’m here for you. ♥ Copy and paste this as your status to show people there are people out there that care. Like this status if you read it."


But.. I thought about it..
And pretty much immediately responded:

~ The thing is.. that all the guilt mentioned above is no different than the guilt so many feel by staying alive.. so dying doesn't really seem as shocking to the person truly considering suicide. Often times they feel guilty just for being alive, that they aren't good enough for that guy, or they already cause their family to be miserable, they are an embarrassment/failure and everyone around them is pretty much just as miserable whether they live or die.. things just don't seem like they would be any different with or without them there... but that's a lie.

~ I have lost several people in my life to suicide.. I don't know the answer, but thank you for posting this and encouraging ppl to try to reach out.

~ I think maybe that is the key... for each of us to look around in our lives and ask God, who am I not spending time with in my life that I can put my arm around and bring closer into my life? Who has withdrawn themselves for whatever reason from family or friends or the church, that I can hang around and ask to be invited into their life? Who is not so appealing, not so holy, not so positive, not so beautiful (Isaiah 53:2).. that each of us can petition God to help us see them, really see them, and love them... really love them? That's what will change a person's mind about suicide, if they are serious about it. It's the ones who say so little, who never mention it, who just do it.. but then it's too late to tell them how much they are loved.. and too late to SHOW them that someone really cares, to assure them that it's not just them, we are all the problem, that we need each other.. ppl need them. Being needed, purpose as God defines it.. that is the catalyst of hope and change and salvation.