Another Day With You

Friends, Septemeber is known as Suicide Prevention Month. This week specifically in America is Suicide Prevention Week, and today, the 10th, is known as World Suicide Prevention Day. It's a week that holds a lot of heaviness and pain, but it also holds the potential for so much hope.

There are a thousand things to be said, a thousand reminders to give, promises to make, and yet I find myself struggling to put words to it all. It hits closer to home for me then it ever has, in a way that leaves me both wanting to shout from the rooftops and yet coming up speechless. And the only way that I'm truly able to put the echo in my heart into words is simply this: I want you here. I just want you to stay.

If you can't imagine what dry ground looks like anymore; if you feel like you've been stuck in the storm for so long that your lungs are filling up with water and you can't breathe – know first and foremost that you are so ferociously and incredibly loved.

I know that you're hurting. And I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I know during moments like these, "sorry" seems like the emptiest word of all, but everything in me wants to say it anyways, again and again. I'm sorry you're hurting, I'm sorry life hasn't been kind to you, I'm sorry you've been dissapointed, I'm sorry you're lost and confused and feel like you're drowning. I would do anything to give you a better life; to pick up the needle and thread and mend you myself.

But friend,I'm so grateful that you're here.

This life isn't perfect, it's never easy, and yeah - it's pretty broken. But I promise you - there is hope. Even in the thistles and thorns, there is beauty. There is so much good left for you.

There are days of heartache and pain, but there are also days of the most beautiful, overwhelming joy. And even if you haven't seen those in awhile - trust me. They're not gone. They're still here. And more then anything in the world, I want you to be, too.

Go to your room. Lay on your bed. Listen to music. Close your eyes. Breathe. Put a hand on your heart. Feel that thumping in your chest? Let all your day, week, month, year or more sink into your bed. Listen to your music with or without tears in your eyes. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. What has happened, happened. Just breathe. Let it all go. Your hand; don't put it down. That thumping is called purpose. You're living for a reason. Don't think about ending it. Breathe. You will be alright. You will be okay. You will get through this. I believe in you. All broken people believe in you.

If you're reading this and you don't struggle with mental health and those heartrending thoughts - you don't carry that weight - recognize what a gift that is. And at the same time, recognize the responsibility that you have to reach out to those around you who may not be in the same place you are. You never know what someone may be facing. You never, ever know. And you never will even catch a glimpse of knowing if you don't extend a hand.

There's very little we can control in this world - and that's coming from someone who has had to recognize that a lot in the past year. We can't control whether or not people struggle, or how hard life will hit us over and over again with harder lashes and punches each time. But we can be people who are there. People who are there admist the trials and hurricanes of this life. We can be people who show up before we even know the storm has arrived, so that when it does, we're already there, umbrella in one hand and an extra warm coat in the other. Connection keeps us grounded, and life is easier when we know that someone is fighting in the trench next to us, ready to watch our back or carry some of the load when it becomes too much. The most important thing you could ever do for someone is to be someone who's there. Who shows up - and never stops. On the good days and the hard ones, when it's easy and when it's not. Show up. Show up in tangible, consistent ways. Gifts. Walks. Phone calls. Don't leave things to chance; to assumption. Show up. We can't control much in this world - but we can do everything in our power to show the people around us that they're loved.

If you don't face the battle of deciding to stay, show up for the ones that do. They're probably all around you and you don't even know it. That's why it is so vitaly important to keep showing up. To keep checking in. To pick up the phone and call just to be there. To see people, and to show them love. To show them you care, and you love them. If you have a chance to make people happy, just do it. Sometimes people are struggling silently. Maybe your act of kindness can make their day.

You can't save people single-handedly, no matter how hard you try or how desperately you want to. But we can be an anchor; a reminder of what is true and Who is true. And you can pray, over and over again - because true battles can only be won on your knees.

I love the quote that says, "When you can't look on the bright side, I'll sit with you in the dark." May we never forget the importance of just being there. Pray for that person, pray with that person, and never lose sight of a chance to show them kindness and pour out your love. May we be people who carry eachother's burdens; people that don't hezitate to run into the storm and help someone to dry ground.

I recentely heard about To Write Love On Her Arms, which works to give hope to those struggling in all areas of mental health, and their theme for suicide this month is "Another Day With You" - because at the end of the day, that's all we want: another day with you. And another. And another. Whether you can see that to be true or not, there are so many people who want another day with you.

Even more importantly - there are so many people who want YOU to want another day. Who want you to see that there's a hope, even here admist our brokeness. Who want you to feel joy wash over you like a wave.

Because you are so, so loved.

And this world is so much better with you in it. You can't even begin to imagine all the ways. Someone discovered their favorite dessert because of you. Someone found their favorite song because of you. Your friend orders the same coffee you first introduced to them every single day, and each time they think of you. The kid who overheard a joke you told tells his friends that all the time and each time thinks of you. Somoene out there remembers something you said that made them smile, and that's what gets them through on a rough day, or how you have the best hugs in the world. Someone thinks of you when a certain movie is talked about, or when they see a shirt that looks exaclty like one they saw you in and loved. Someone gets excited when they see a message from you pop up on their phone.

There's more for you beyond today. There is so, so much more ahead - and I want you to be able to see it for youself. To experiance the beautiful things in store for you - things that you can't even fathom right now. You have so much to live for. There's nothing that I mean more. Because someday you're going to wake up, and realize that all the fighting and hurt you went through got you to where you are now. And your story is only just beggining.

A blogger I follow said this recentely, and I love how true it is: "Hope is never nonexistent. It morphs and changes and isn't always exactly what we expected, but it's always there."

You are loved by so many people. People you don't even know - people you've passed by and woven through and made better. By me, however many miles apart we may be. By the One who made the oceans and mountains and galaxies and even the most prettiest things on earth, and knew the world wouldn't be complete without one of you too. And He loves you.

Keep fighting. Keep hoping. Keep staying.

And rest in this: your current joy, defeat, trial, pain, mountain, brokeness, pit, victory - your current situation is apart of God's divine plan. Everything you're experiencing serves a purpose. Whether it is in sight or not. Your "now" will serve for a "then". Embrace it. Trust in it. Learn to thrive on it. He will never forsake you.

Please know, please believe: you have value. You have potential. You are beautiful. You have purpose.

You are loved.

And know that my inbox is alway open. If you ever need a friend - I'm always around.

SHINE ON,

Photo by Alex Batonisashvili on Unsplash