Call for the Wailing Women: A Wail for Victims of Suicide
Come Join Our Wailing Women Workshop & Prayer
Saturday, December 8th from 8:00-9:30am ET
This is the final topic on the series of wailing. I hope it has helped us focus on the plights of others and not just our own. I look forward to the new theme for next year. In the meantime, don’t stop praying; so many people are counting on us to wail for them!
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When I woke the morning of June 9th of this year and was informed by my husband that Anthony Bourdain had died, I was quite surprised. When I learned that it was by suicide, I was in disbelief. I have watched several of his shows and he seemed like a man that found much enjoyment in life. He made no secret of his earlier struggles with drugs and alcohol but seemed to have overcome those difficult times. He was a well-known author, chef, and tv personality. A few days earlier Kate Spade also made headlines when she took her own life.
Suicide is thrown to the forefront whenever a famous person takes their life. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) reports that there were 44,193 suicide deaths in America in 2015 and the number increased by 1.5 percent, an additional 772, in 2016. The report goes on to say that the suicide rate in the United States has been “steadily increasing” throughout the years. Suicide does not discriminate and goes across all racial and age groups. Even though females are twice as likely than men to attempt suicide, men are more likely to succeed in their attempts because they tend to use more drastic measures, such as firearms, while women often take more passive measures, such as sleeping pills.
There is still a stigma attached to suicide and because of this it goes underreported. Think of the times you or someone you know may have considered suicide. The fact that you’re still here means you did not go through with it or were unsuccessful. As Christians, there is an additional stigma that goes along with suicide, but I fear that it does not keep us from ever thinking about it or even contemplating it. Some of the struggles we go through in life may take us to the point of having these thoughts pass through our minds. Since we don’t ever really know what is going on in people’s minds, we can only go by appearances, as I did in the case of Anthony Bourdain, or as America did in the cases of people like Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Prince, Robin Williams, and countless others. Not to mention when it is loved ones or people you may know locally. The victims of suicide are not just the ones who succumb to it. They are also those who are left behind to deal with the guilt and remorse, the shame and the whispers. Suicide is a real issue and we must not remain naïve or in denial that it may one day show up at our door and ask to come in.
Many years ago, suicide came knocking at my door. It was not after me, but after someone at the other end of the telephone line who I had to convince not to let it overtake them. I was working as a receptionist and a young lady showed up asking to speak to my boss. I told her he was not in but would be in later. She seemed very upset, so I told her to write him a note and call him later. I saw her wiping tears as she wrote. When she left, I battled whether to read the note, but finally decide to read it. In the note she stated that she was a postal worker who was tired of being harassed by her boss. She explained that she was headed to kill him and then herself. I was in horror! I called the police and they quickly came and interrogated me. While the detectives were still there the young lady called and said she was getting ready to kill herself. I was told by the hostage negotiation team to keep her on the line until they traced the call. I tried to talk as calmly as I could and tried to give her several reasons to live, while at the same time ask her the questions the detectives were feeding me. Finally, I was able to convince her to come back to see me. Unbeknownst to her, they had traced the call and detectives were waiting to apprehend her when she headed my way.
I must say that trying to convince someone not to commit suicide was one of the worst things I ever experienced. I felt so helpless. Although I received an award and was hailed a hero by the local police, I did not feel like one. The question of how I would live with the guilt had she gone through with it, constantly hounded me. I must say that the incident served to make me more sensitive to the human condition. Whenever I am asked how is “so and so” doing, I usually respond, “they seem to be doing well, but you never know what is going on in one’s mind.”
Life is so precious and, in these times, where it seems to be so devalued, we must understand that every life is important to the Lord. He took the time to create us “fearfully and wonderfully” (Psalm 139:14). We are only given one life and we must do our best to preserve it.
This month let’s take up a wailing against the spirit of suicide which is becoming more and more pervasive. Let us pray for those who may be considering it, maybe unbeknownst to us. The next time you see someone that seems to have it all together, take the time to see if they really are okay and not just go by appearances. You may never know if suicide is knocking at their door. But, we do know that the Lord can give us the power to resist it.