Holidays Are Deadly

This touches deep. Coming up on the Holidays it is so easy to get caught up in the season with family and friends… the flip side is the dread of the days to come for some.

Having had my own battles with suicide attempts, a grandfather who took his own life and a very close call with my daughter I can tell you for some Holidays are a true life or death challenge. I personally will never look at Thanksgiving weekend or May 1st the same. There was a time when I scheduled surgeries or procedures the day before Christmas so I could be sedated and sleep through the festivities.

I feel myself getting anxious on the days leading up to Thanksgiving, hold my breath just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am not sharing this for sympathy or attention… I am sharing because at the time nobody suspected a thing. With my daughter I did not see her attempt coming and my grandfather’s choice will haunt me until the day I die… I lived right across the street and did not see it coming. With my own nobody realized the pain I was in… we didn’t notice the pain our loved ones were in.

Pay close attention to those around you. People are struggling. If you are struggling reach out to someone you trust, reach out to me… I am a safe place. If you know someone is alone, you keep feeling them being laid on your heart…reach out, invite them to not just sit at your table but stay connected, continue to check on them. I challenge you to be the light, the change, the hope in someone’s life during the next few weeks…no, for as long as is needed. if you are personally struggling I pray for you to have the courage, strength and will to reach out and ask for what you need… don’t succumb to darkness…