Faith, Grace, and Hope

What’s the next step when you pull up to a gas pump?  What are the steps to making pasta?  What order do you put your clothes on (provided you’re not Superman)?  What happens at a stop sign?  For most of us, the way we do these things is ingrained in us. We’ve done them so many times, we probably don’t think about them anymore.  There are other situations that occur less frequently for which we need to memorize what to do.  What are the signs of a heart attack in a man? In a woman?  What are the signs of a stroke?  What to do if a rancher says the hospital might be necessary?  We CAN learn what to do in each of these situations and we should. You should know what your first, second, and third steps will be. There are fridge magnets, flyers, and all kinds of internet guidance for these situations.  Do you know what your next steps are if someone tells you that they don’t want to be alive anymore? Do you have a plan for if a friend says, “...

With the apparent suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain this week, I keep thinking about a sign that I recently saw on Onslow Beach in North Carolina. This sign is clearly for the sake of the people swimming and the lifeguards in the area. I think, though, this sign has implications beyond the beach, beyond the ocean, beyond vacation and into every day "just keep swimming" with which many people struggle. There have been three times in my life when I thought it would be better "not to be". Even in my brain that doesn't quite function as it ought, angels and endorphins worked overtime and I survived. Lots of people don't. It's not that they didn't have angels and endorphins, it is that the lies of the pain made it hard to hear the truth. When your brain is unwell, when you are mentally ill, your misfiring synapses lie to you. They tell you that the world would be better off, that oblivion is easier, that while people may be sad- you are sa...

On World Suicide Prevention Day:  God of all space and time, There is darkness that exists which feels impenetrable. Darkness that seems to overcome all light. Darkness which swallows the will to live, The desire to go on, The possibility of grace, The existence of hope. There is darkness in this world, in some hearts, in some minds... Darkness which makes a person feel separated from You and from Love. You have created a light which no darkness can overcome, But sometimes the darkness seems too great. On this day, be with those who feel surrounded by darkness... Who are afraid to speak of their plans, Who are pondering in their hearts what seems the only end to their pain. Be with those who have reached out, but not been believed. Be with people who are left behind, who have questions, who blame themselves. Send your Spirit of consolation and hope into the world on this day, Turn up the Light of Love- burnish and banish the d...