According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention
suicide rates increased in all but one state between 1999 and 2016. In 2016 there were twice as many suicides and
homicides in the United States. Last week a group of high school students took
to the streets of Denver to launch a campaign to cut suicide rates in half.
They gave away “Its ok to be not ok” bracelets and sought to engage anyone and
everyone in conversation.
In 2010 Anna, Texas, with a population just over 8,000, was rocked by a series of suicides and suicide
attempts. Three times in a sixteen-day stretch the police responded
to calls involving apparent suicides or suicide attempts. Churches in the city
urged residents to gather at Slayter Creek Park in Anna to pray for the city,
its residents and for its leaders.
Sooner or later suicide becomes personal for each of
us. Someone we know, or someone close to us takes their
life. A number of years ago, my cousin’s husband, a psychologist
with a doctorate from SMU, wandered out into the woods behind their home, sat
down at the base of a tree and shot himself.
Suicide, whenever and wherever it occurs always leaves a
wide swath of emotional destruction among family members and friends
leaving in its wake feelings of confusion, anger, guilt and grief. Like all wounds, time helps, but the shadows
of suicide never completely disappear in the lives of those closest to the
victim.
The primary symptoms leading to suicide appear to be
depression and hopelessness. Almost everyone gets depressed at one time
or another. Some of the greatest personalities in history have battled
depression, including Abraham Lincoln. But
when depression slips into despondency and hopelessness, an irrational
moment can result in the shocking headlines we read in the
newspapers.
As human beings, each of us faces a difficult moment at
some point over the span of our lifetime. In today’s connected world we can scan
the globe on our keyboard and, at the same time, not know the name of our
neighbor next door or across the street. Individuals come and go
in such a hurry that the support network of family and friends has shrunk
in today's society and some feel they have no place to turn.
None of us can read the minds of those around us, but each
of us can resolve to be a better friend, a better listener and simply be there
for others. Suicide is never God’s plan for anyone’s life. God
always offers a future and a hope. He can remove the guilt that often leads to
despair. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though
your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18) Even
when circumstances are darkest and the future seems impossible, God has a way forward that we cannot see. “For I know
the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for
calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
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