Prevent a Tragedy Today

Just last week a Mayor killed her 19-year-old daughter and then killed herself.  This kind of tragedy is so difficult to understand.  How does someone get to this place?  What are the driving forces that lead to this outcome?  Is it depression, financial pressure, mental illness, desperation, loss of hope, fatigue, too many losses in life etc?

One may never know the exact trigger or triggers, but we do know that life can become treacherous.  When you hear a story like this one it reminds you of just how fragile we are.  It proves again that even good people, God-fearing people can succumb to the pressures of life.

I am sure as this lady sat in church each Sunday she never dreamed this would be how her life ended.  Her pastor said she was going through some financial difficulties, her husband had died recently and no doubt the pressures of being a mayor compounded all of this. I am sure she fought against this outcome until she finally in a moment of desperation did what she did. What can we glean from this event?

First, that all of us will face pressures in our lives and only by the grace of God and others can we overcome it.  We should realize that people we go to church with on Sunday’s could be in serious trouble.  We should be more loving, more compassionate, more engaged in those we are close too.

We should never think that just because someone looks strong, acts strong, that they are strong.  Success in life does not limit problems but it increases them.  Sometimes the people you think have it the easiest are really fighting for their lives.

As the pressures increase in our great nation it is possible that people will continue to follow in these footsteps.  Could it be that a kind word from you, a hug, a smile, a few moments of understanding conversation would be the help that someone needs?

I would admonish all of us to open our eyes and really see what is going on in our friends’ lives, and open our hearts and find time to let them know God is for them and we are standing beside them.

When you begin to see subtile changes in those you know, don’t turn a deaf ear to their silent cries, but reach out with understanding and compassion and let them know they can trust you with their pain.

Standing before a full coffin will haunt you, so take time now to help those who are hurting all around you.

Write them a letter, drop a card in the mail, make that phone call, take them to lunch, do something to let them know they count.  I am sure everyone that reads this today can think of someone who needs a shoulder to lean on.

Don’t wait until tragedy strikes before you act.  Act right now.

Pastor Leon Wallace