Someone came to church worship on Sunday at 9:00.  They sat through the service and then I got a phone call after I went home.  A person called  and told me  the wife who was with her husband got a telephone call at 7:20 Sunday morning informing her that her  20-year-old son had committed suicide. This was a son from her first marriage.  I know her present husband – a friend of mine.

Crap.  I had no clue she and her husband were so in shock and hurting.

I called the husband after lunch and offered my support.  I realized that we never know, as preachers ,who is sitting before us and what recently happened in their life.   Crap. And I felt something in the service when after asking people to pray for Jim in his mother’s death. I felt something prompting me to say, “There is someone here who lost someone – who needs help?”    But I dismissed this intuitive prompting.  Later I realized it was the Holy Spirit praying for us all.

Suicide – a real monster hammer that pounds the clear light out of you.  I hate suicide.  I hate it hate it hate it.  Because of the unanswered questions it leaves.  Like why did a hole blow through my soul when I could have, should have, would have – done, said, answered, talked, came to, offered, reminded them….a question that has a dead end.

It is a black hole that sucks the light and life out of you.  Please pray fro my friend and his wife in their horrible loss.

I hate suicide.