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"Life Is Precious - Thank You, Graham Moore" February, 2015

2/11/2015

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… "Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the child of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. "Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.  Isaiah 49:15-16

LISTEN TO:    Judy Collins "Wings of Angels"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNittvHI-SY
(written after her son Clark's suicide in 1992)

Last Sunday evening I turned on the TV for my obligatory  hour of Oscar ogling.  What I saw floored me.   Don't get me going on Lady Gaga's Sound of Music medley! However it was Graham Moore, the Academy Award screenwriter for The Imitation Game, who brought tears to my eyes.  The heart of his speech is captured in the above picture.   He admitted he tried to kill himself as a teenager because he felt weird, different, didn't fit in.  He used his prime time acceptance speech to encourage all the kids watching to hang in there.  To stay true to themselves. That there is a place for them in the world.

Suicide is one of those touchy subjects that make people squirm.  The pain is real.  The chemical misfiring in the brain is real.   For those who are trying to mitigate the pain and to banish the despair,  the love and hope is real.  Yet one of the deepest mysteries of life is that people do take their lives for a variety of reasons no matter how much they are loved by God, their family or friends.  

Suicide has been a family and professional acquaintance for many, many years.  As a witness to a suicide, I can tell you that particular memory has bored a hole into my heart that the years have cushioned but not erased.  In the theological debate about suicide I have also come to see that just as deadly are the little ways that we daily kill off life: through criticism, fear, anger.  We put people down, as well as ourselves.  We belittle other’s efforts or their dreams – or we discount the vision God has called us to because it is too different from what our family or friends are doing.  We forget the words of Jesus:  "And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? Matt. 7:3.  We fail to see that in criticizing or hurting others we are really harming ourselves.  In good or bad we are interconnected.

It is true that life can be so broken that children and older people do what to take their lives.  There are cases where all the love in the world, the best doctors in the world couldn't sway a decision to die.  Yet there are many, many examples of healing, love, therapies working, going through the darkness until the corner is turned, light is seen and life is transformed.  We are not capable of unraveling this terrible mystery of suicide. What we can do is love no matter what.  Faith teaches us God is compassion and merciful -- even when we don't understand. Even when we feel forgotten, faith teaches us God does not forget us.  Faith teaches that even when we cannot perceive God, God is there. In the Valley of the Shadow of Death as well as beside the greenest pastures and still waters. Faith teaches us that goodness and mercy pursues us, all the days of our lives. Faith promises us that those we have lost to suicide are not lost to God. Faith teaches us that for those right now, who feel there is no future, there is indeed a future, a vision, a hope  and a promise.

 So whenever we are tempted to “kill” a piece of life today, let us chose to love. Whenever we meet someone who is despondent and low, let us seek to encourage and love them, praying they would come to know that they are precious and  that they are engraved in the hand of God - and they have a place in this world.

Pray:  “ God of Living, show us how to treasure the life you have blessed us with.  Comfort those who have lost a loved one to suicide.  We pray for those who are thinking of harming themselves.  Through your grace and our help may they know they are loved, precious and that you have made a place for them in this world. ”

     


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"Gratitutde"  February, 2015

2/4/2015

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"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.  Psalm 138:7"

 Listen: Mariah Carey,   "Heavenly (No Ways Tired/Can't Give Up Now"
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-3NPQSlOJY

In the Chinese character for gratitude,  we understand that gratefulness is rooted in the heart and from there is moved into speech.  So today I speak of what I am grateful for.
 
Many of you know our son Andrew was in a very serious automobile accident on Tuesday.  Miraculously he and the other driver were uninjured.  Andrew's car was totaled.  As I looked at what remained of his car, a multitude of thoughts and emotions flooded me.  First praise to God that no one was physically hurt.  Worries about the immediate future. Then the practical concerns of calling our insurance, junking the car...all the aftermath details of a car accident.

 

After a few hours deeper thoughts and emotions surfaced; spiritual whiplash that left me almost teary-eyed.  There were thoughts about the interplay between the endurance and frailty of life.  We can persevere through and rise above the most difficult circumstances yet life can be terminated in a second. The Psalms remind us: "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.   Wonderful are your works; that I know very well Psalm 139:14"  Because of the everyday, mostly hidden miracles in us and around us and the blessings we have accrued, there is often an illusion of control over life.  Accidents, mishaps, other struggles and injustices may sometimes lead us to question God's mercy, but they do remind us that life is a gift and we are an earthen vessel (2 Cor. 4:7). One day our life will return to its Creator's hands.  Very rarely do we get to chose that day.  Since we do not know the day or the hour of when our life will be required (cf. Luke 12:20),  it is our choice how we are to live right now, the only time we have.    Mahatma Gandhi once said, "live as if you were to die tomorrow."  A somewhat macabre thought, but in it contains great wisdom.  Forget about "bucket lists" of visiting exotic places, have we told our immediate family and friends what they mean to us?  Aside from our "carbon footprint" what is the "love print" we have impressed  on this earth?  The most important things for us to do are in our hand's reach right now.

There was one other memory that surprisingly surfaced as I responded to Andrew's accident.  My brother, Chris, died nearly 40 years ago in a jeep accident.  The time evaporated and I remembered that terrible early morning call, the crying, the shock of losing someone so vibrant and young.  But I also remembered a brother who took the time and wrote letters encouraging me.  His kind words made a difference in me, imperceptibly guiding me into who I am today.  I think of my brother because his beloved guitar is with us.  Andrew often plays it and I remember Chris' love of music and his gift as a songwriter. I like to think of Chris' presence inspiring and encouraging Andrew as well -- especially as I am reminded Andrew is at the same age Chris was when he died.
 
So because of this car accident I remembered my brother, 40 years after his death, and reaffirmed his powerful gift of encouragement.  No matter how much time goes by, the impact of our deeds and words, for better or worse, remain in the hearts we touch. That is a great gift.  God has give us the ability to make a difference in the life of those around us and in the life of our good earth. In this is gratitude.  Gratitude for what we have yes; but gratitude that we take part in the very  transformation of life around us.  Gratitude that we are alive today and today, we can make a difference.

Today where will you make a difference?

What are you grateful for? Today express your gratitude by caring for someone else.  Make sure to say it in words as well as deeds. Let someone know the impact they made on you.

 Pray:  "Giver of Life, teach us grateful living, cherishing this day.  Today may I reach out to someone I don't ordinarily see and talk to them, offering thanks for what they have done for me."

 



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    Moirajo is a minister, social worker, wife, mother, writer and animal lover. That's just for starters. Join the story, there's so much we can share together! 

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