Suicide Prevention: How to Save a Life

"I'll never forget how, many years ago, after another approach had failed

to give relief, Matthew said `Dad, I know I'm going to heaven. Why can't

I just die and end this pain?"' Warren recalled.

[Source: www.foxnews.com | Photo Credits: www.people.com]

I thought suicide was just too impossible.



It was painful. It was hopeless. It was a sin.



Suicide was impossible. That’s how I thought. But, that was before.



Yesterday, while I was serenely seated down doing my work at the office, one of my officemates briefly announced on my right ear that Rick Warren’s son is dead.



Suicide.



The Purpose Driven Life book. My Victory Group brother Ray. The girl from UP. The suicide hotline I saw in a poster in an LRT station. Pastor Cleve in our Foundation for Victory class. The judgement of the people. The mercy of God. These are the thoughts that ran swiftly on my head when my officemate said, “Suicide.”



I panicked. I wasn’t able to grasp it immediately. How can a son of a pastor kill himself?



And then, the grace of God fell on me. It held the stone of judgement I was about cast upon Pastor Rick Warren and to his family. (The stone says, "Did they not teach his son about God?") In a sudden blink of an eye, it occurred to me once again what Pastor Cleve taught us.



Depression is a disease.



It was as if Jesus took the stone from my hand, crushed it into pieces and wiped my hands clean again. I cannot judge Pastor Rick Warren, nor his family.



More than thinking about Pastor Rick Warren, his family and his son, I became more worried for the people like me who are most likely to judge them without knowing how and why suicides happen. I also thought about the young girl from the University of the Philippines who also took away her life recently, for her inability to pay her school fees. And then today, just this day, two young boys from Batangas were found dead in their rooms too. One of them failed at school and won’t graduate this March. They also committed suicide.



I said to myself, “But these are young men and women who have so much ahead of them. How can life be THAT futile when you are barely on your 20’s? Is this not the age of new beginnings, of new dreams, of new hope?”



“Suicide is just too impossible when you are THIS young!” I bargained with the truth.



But no, truth says, “Suicide is real. It is very real. In fact, it is happening now. It's just, we don’t know all the facts.”



Like a capstone being set in place and completing the whole structure, I now know why a couple of weeks ago in an LRT station, a poster showed itself to me and said, “The Philippines' first ever depression and suicide prevention hotline.”



I never realized how gracious that poster was for simply being there, prostrating itself on the station’s wall and shouting out “Hope is here!” all day long and praying to God for it to be used by Him to save someone’s life.



The Philippines’ first ever depression and suicide prevention hotline was created by a non-profit organization which dreams to give hope to as many people as it can, in times of great need.



The Natasha Goulbourn Foundation offers a 24/7 Hopeline to those who are in need. Their website is at www.ngf-hope.org.

(02) 804-HOPE (4673)

0917 558 HOPE (4673)

0917 852 HOPE (4673)

2919 (toll-free number for all GLOBE and TM subscribers)

Through the website, I have learned more about depression.



Depression is not just a feeling. It is an illness. And like any other illness, it needs to be treated.



POSTCRIPT: During one of my Foundation for Victory classes in Victory Ortigas, one of my classmates asked what will happen to the soul of the girl from UP who killed herself. Will she go to heaven or somewhere else?



I remembered how Pastor Cleve did not answer the question directly and only left us with the thought of how unfathomable God’s mercy is.



“Chemical imbalances occur in the brains of the people who are contemplating suicide. They don’t have the full control of themselves.”



When he said this, I heaved a deep sigh of relief knowing that God is God and that He spared me from the great burden of being a judge to other people.



I don’t know what will happen on Earth if He left the “judging” to us. I bet no one will be spared from the sword. And the worst part is, the weak and the misunderstood may be the first ones to go. Just because we don’t know all of the facts.



Just because we don’t know all of the facts.



I am glad that I don’t need to blame Pastor Rick Warren, nor his family, nor his son for what happened. I am glad that it’s not my business anymore to know whether or not the girl from UP went to heaven or not. I’m glad that God did not appoint me as a judge to the two young boys who took away their own lives when I don’t even know who they are, what kind of life they lived and what’s going on in their minds when they decided to quit.



But I am glad that I know of a Man who walked on Earth two thousand years ago, who has all the right to judge all of us, but did not do so. Instead, He took the judgment for Himself and left us with the commandments to just love one another, and to love God.



INVITATION: I belong to a group of men and women who are more than willing to listen to whatever you want to say. If you need someone to talk to or if you know someone who needs help, please don’t hesitate to call us via 0917-838-7545, or e-mail us via hello@sleekinthecity.com.



VIDEO: “How to Save a Life” by The Fray is a song about wanting to save someone’s life even when you don’t know how. If you have wanted to save someone once in your life, this song is for you.



Let him know that you know best

Cause after all you do know best

Try to slip past his defense

Without granting innocence

Lay down a list of what is wrong

The things you've told him all along

And pray to God he hears you

And pray to God he hears you



#savealife