You are not alone!

The staff at my school participated in suicide prevention training on Friday.  It made me think.  It made me reflect from both perspectives...the desperate and the lifesaver.  Neither place is easy.

Many people have been in the shoes of the desperate.  The place where the lies in your head are so thick that there is no light.  It happens to all kinds of people with all kinds of belief systems.  Christians and people with strong faith are not immune to the lies of the enemy that lead to depression, and they deal with shame and condemnation for feeling that way.  Even Robin Williams, one of the most loved people on this planet, felt that there was only one way out of the darkness.

If you are feeling desperate right now, reach out for help.  Tell someone how dark it is.  Someone will hold your hand and help you find your way out of the darkness.  Someone will shine a light on the path for you.  Death is not the answer!  Don't give up!  You are not alone!

All of us can be lifesavers.  If someone in your life reaches out to you, hold their hand and shine a light in the darkness.  If you are unable to help, connect them with someone who can help.  It could be the difference between life and death!

If you are feeling depressed, call out the name of Jesus.  He will come immediately and shine His light into your darkness.  Seek out a pastor or a Christian friend who can help you find a pastor.  Fill your mind with truth from the Bible so that there is no room for the lies.  God loves you and you are not alone!

Be a red blood cell

Two days ago, I was teaching about red blood cells in my anatomy and physiology class.  Red blood cells (RBCs) have no nucleus, they only live for 100-120 days, and they really aren't like any other cell.  I said to my class, "I wonder if RBCs ever think...I'm not a real cell.  I don't have a nucleus.  I'm not like all the other cells.  I can't divide.  I can't make protein.  What is my purpose?  I don't belong here!  I'm not important!"

We'd be in big trouble if RBCs gave up and quit doing what they are made to do.  RBCs are specially and uniquely made for their life giving function...carrying oxygen and getting rid of carbon dioxide.  What if they tried to be like other cells?  They would not be able to bring life giving oxygen to the other cells who depend on them!  RBCs are the ONLY cell that is made to carry oxygen.  They must do their job so that all the other cells can do their jobs.  What a mess it would be if red blood cells tried to be like other cells.  In fact, it would be a fatal mistake!

Are you seeing the correlation?  I can't speak for you, but I have spent my entire life trying to fit in, trying to belong, trying to be like people whom I admire.  The truth is that no one else is like me.  I can bring life to people through God's love and the words that I speak, and I encourage them to do the things that God has called them to do.   It is ridiculous for me to try to be someone else...as ridiculous as RBCs trying to be a different cell.

It is no mistake that the Apostle Paul compared the church to the human body.  We each have a unique and wonderful part to play in God's plan.  It's impossible for me to be someone else, just as it is impossible for RBCs to be neurons or muscle cells.  We are specially created by God for the purpose He has for us.  Who will fulfill my purpose if I am busy trying to be someone else?  And why would I give so much effort toward being like someone else when it is so easy to be me?  I am already programmed to be Dawn Marie Karr.  I am fearfully and wonderfully made to be me!   I choose to be a "red blood cell"!