It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.
~~~~~~~~~~~ John Steinbeck
In case you missed it, there was a thread yesterday, started by my good friend, @orangeuglad , asking for help with one of his employees who had made a bona fide but unsuccessful attempt to take his own life. The question now, in its simplest form, is "What can I do to help? Because I don't have a clue." Talk about an elephant in your living room. Go take a look; you'll find many well-intended and sincere responses from a fairly diverse group of posters. It came as no surprise that the one with real substance, based on an actual fund of knowledge came from our own @The Sundance Kid. (OT: How do you help someone who tried to kill themself?)
I thought about it most of the evening and into the night. What does my buddy do or say now, to convince this man that his life is worth living? That he has value far greater than merely being a co-worker? That he's part of that "family," and would be desperately missed if he left, not because of his work but because of WHO HE IS? Unlike George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life), if an angel shows this man his past, he won't find the beauty that George found. There won't be a lazy river of great memories he can float on. His life is not that life. Even though he's young, he has already caught a glimpse of a Hell that most of us will never encounter. How do we convince this young guy that despite all that, the above Steinbeck quote is true and it absolutely applies to him? If you have an answer or a suggestion, go over to that thread and share it.
And for all of us, pray for this boy and for those who love him. There isn't time for us to do nothing at all. There just isn't.
God bless him and all of us.
NT
Bonus read: I keep thinking of the song, "God Only Knows" by for KING & COUNTRY. If you don't know the song, give it a listen or watch the great video. A sample of the lyrics:
Wide awake while the world is sound asleep, and
Too afraid of what might show up while you're dreamin'...
Every day you try to pick up all the pieces,
All the memories, they somehow never leave you.
You keep a cover over every single secret
So afraid if someone saw them, they would leave you
But somebody, somebody, somebody sees you
Somebody, somebody will never leave you.
CHORUS: God only knows what you've been through
God only knows what they say about you
God only knows how it's killing you
But there's a kind of love that God only knows
~~~~~~~~~~~ John Steinbeck
In case you missed it, there was a thread yesterday, started by my good friend, @orangeuglad , asking for help with one of his employees who had made a bona fide but unsuccessful attempt to take his own life. The question now, in its simplest form, is "What can I do to help? Because I don't have a clue." Talk about an elephant in your living room. Go take a look; you'll find many well-intended and sincere responses from a fairly diverse group of posters. It came as no surprise that the one with real substance, based on an actual fund of knowledge came from our own @The Sundance Kid. (OT: How do you help someone who tried to kill themself?)
I thought about it most of the evening and into the night. What does my buddy do or say now, to convince this man that his life is worth living? That he has value far greater than merely being a co-worker? That he's part of that "family," and would be desperately missed if he left, not because of his work but because of WHO HE IS? Unlike George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life), if an angel shows this man his past, he won't find the beauty that George found. There won't be a lazy river of great memories he can float on. His life is not that life. Even though he's young, he has already caught a glimpse of a Hell that most of us will never encounter. How do we convince this young guy that despite all that, the above Steinbeck quote is true and it absolutely applies to him? If you have an answer or a suggestion, go over to that thread and share it.
And for all of us, pray for this boy and for those who love him. There isn't time for us to do nothing at all. There just isn't.
God bless him and all of us.
NT
Bonus read: I keep thinking of the song, "God Only Knows" by for KING & COUNTRY. If you don't know the song, give it a listen or watch the great video. A sample of the lyrics:
Wide awake while the world is sound asleep, and
Too afraid of what might show up while you're dreamin'...
Every day you try to pick up all the pieces,
All the memories, they somehow never leave you.
You keep a cover over every single secret
So afraid if someone saw them, they would leave you
But somebody, somebody, somebody sees you
Somebody, somebody will never leave you.
CHORUS: God only knows what you've been through
God only knows what they say about you
God only knows how it's killing you
But there's a kind of love that God only knows
