To the Person Ready to Quit Life…

Maybe you’re looking through your WordPress Reader right now looking for a reason to live. Maybe you searched out these words to find a reason not to give up on life. Maybe today sucked. Maybe this life has sucked and you’re ready to give up.

Please read this before you make any decisions and take any action.

You matter. You matter to someone who you may not even know you matter to. You matter to people you haven’t even met yet because what is within you that helps you press through each day is something someone else is going to come looking to you to provide for them. You matter because you woke up this morning and that mean GOD, the Creator of this world, thought enough about you to give you another day to continue. And I know right now He is the last name you want to say and you’re wondering where the hell He is, but He is right there with you keeping the rest of hell away as you fight this battle. Yes, the diagnosis is terrible. Yes, the mass is larger than anything the doctor has ever seen. Yes, the report sounds terrible and you’re afraid. But also YES you matter to people and they will know and care if you aren’t around.

I can’t tell you it will be easy. I can’t even tell you that it will get better quickly. What I can tell you is that people who paused and made the decision to go on despite wanting to die don’t regret how they were able to overcome and rewrite their futures and truths. This isn’t how life has to be. All these situations and circumstances are temporary. And only you can choose to give up the fight. The fact that you are here looking for a reason means there is a spark of hope within you that it can be better. Reach out to someone, ask for help, and start over. You can’t do this. It doesn’t matter who is around you, it matters that YOU are ready to overcome to and to see through new eyes this world you’re living in. Will you stay? You won’t regret not ending it today when you see where you can be in five years with the right support system.

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This week I’ve sat with friends who have lost loved ones, friends who have lost jobs, friends who are struggling with faith. I’ve talked to people who are giving up hope that life will get better, who are depressed, and who are ready to call it quits because they can’t see the sunshine anymore but instead live in a darkness they can’t explain.

Maybe you are like them and feel alone, tired, and hopeless. If so, please know this… the first step toward living a life that doesn’t feel hopeless is to admit we feel alone and need someone. I know you’re strong – it’s usually the strongest ones who are most alone. I know your pride doesn’t want to ask for help, I’ve been there too. But you must. I know it takes more courage to live than to take your life. I know it’s not really a selfish act but one of desperation and pain that some will never experience. But there are many who have gone before you who made the choice to stay and they can help you through this storm, pain, crisis, and hell. Don’t give up. Not today; not ever.

Call the suicide hotline. Reach out to someone who you respect and know has the resources to help – whether you think they will or not. Ask a pastor. Talk to your EAP. Do whatever you need to do so you can begin the road toward victory over this current moment.

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Originally posted last year on my former blog eyesstraightahead.wordpress.com but still appropriate today with some updates I made to text.