Since the death of Robin Williams, “experts” on depression and suicide have come out of the woodwork. I am concerned for those who struggle with depression, as many of these self-proclaimed “experts” tout their opinions as facts. I don’t pretend to be an expert, but I have learned some things from years of living with a husband who had bipolar and died by suicide as…
I apologize for the brief hiatus; it wasn’t intentional. I’m working on my doctorate, and I have had so many papers to write and books to read that I haven’t had time to write. I did want to take a minute today to encourage you to pray for people in the military around the world. The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) released a…
I am proud to share with you a guest post written by my husband, Jeff. Last week, our high school was in lockdown due to a suicide threat. Jeff was working at the school when it happened, and below are some of his reflections on the event. Guest Blogger: Jeff Ford In September of last year, Natalie posted a prayer challenge and this vital information…
This week I have been teaching my students about the life of Elijah. The story that comes to most of our minds is his showdown with the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. Elijah has a mountaintop experience after God demonstrates his power to all the idolaters in Israel. Elijah is elated — for awhile. You see, Queen Jezebel worshiped Baal, and she was…
Today I will be teaching law enforcement about suicide prevention and postvention. The irony is that eight years ago today I was sitting in my living room waiting to hear from the police as they searched for Michael. I’ll never forget seeing the priest standing in my doorway. Just seeing his collar told me that what I’d feared the most had come true. Michael was…
In the past two weeks, I’ve received texts about one attempted and one completed suicide. My heart aches for the families of both of these individuals. I recently found out that Michael’s death began a string of suicide attempts in our community. This absolutely breaks my heart. When we lose someone to suicide, we are often so overcome by our own grief that we fail…