Befriend and Accept

Main idea for Today's Blog:

Hey Guys! As some of you may know, today is suicide awareness day. Since it is, I would like to tell a parable.

The Actual Blog:

Once upon a time, there was a wonderful young man named Justin. He was always happy on the outside even when he was down on the inside. He was tall, hilarious, handsome in a playful sort of way, always kind, and a great gentleman. He loved smiling for cameras, and getting other people to smile.

One day, a young women met him, and thought that he was the cat's meow. They both hung out together with attitudes of pleasant bliss. He was nice to her sister, and she loved him all the more for it. Justin never told her, but he thought the young woman was amazing, as well. The more time they knew each other, the shorter the time before their friendship seemed.

They were friends for several months, and life was great. Sometimes when the young woman was on Facebook, she wanted to message him, because she loved him, but rarely did she actually bring herself to the boldness to message her happy, wonderful friend.

Weeks past, and she hadn't seen him for a long time. They lived a long way from each other, and so they never got to hang out on a regular basis. When she was catching up with her best friend, the young woman received a phone call about her happy friend. 

Holding back the tears, she answered the questions and statements over the phone shortly, but gently. Upon hanging up, the young woman's friend asked what was wrong.

Her happy friend had died.

The young woman was able to refrain from crying until her friend left, and then everything fell apart. Three hours of mournful tears for her friend. Months passed, and regret from not talking to him arose. Never had her heart been broken so badly. 

She wrote a song about how the gap in her life felt; this was how she was to treasure the memories.

I wish I could say I made this story up, but this is not a fictitious story of mind, it is a reality of experience. It was the worst day of my life when I received the call. Thankfully, Justin was a Christian, so I will see him again. However, such sadness taught me a very important lesson: not even the ones who appear happy with their lives, are guaranteed to be such. I do not know if he committed suicide or not, but what I do know is that people assumed that he was happy all the time. I don't know if anyone ever checked to make sure that was genuine. 

Justin and his one-of-a-kind smile.

This story is meant to be more then just a story of sadness and pain, but I want this to be a lesson for us all that we need to care enough about people to know what's really happening behind their masks in life. 

When people who always smiled, laughed, and joked around pass away, it is so hard to remember to smile, but you have to remember that that is what they would have wanted for you. At the same time, I am still grieved that he isn't around to give me a hug and brighten my day. I can not pretend I did not mourn. As Christians, I think it really is hard sometimes to "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." Sometimes, we want to have all the answers. Well, in the week that we talked about the Gospel as tragedy, we brought that very point up. You don't always have the answers, so sometimes it is better to just shut up, and cry your heart out the the others that are doing the same.

I challenge you all to reach out of your comfort zone, and get to know someone. Be them the silent type, the annoying friendless ones (Jesus was friends with them, why aren't we? Food for thought), or the ones who are always happy. Everyone needs a friend, even if they do not admit to it. Long live caring. Long live joy. Long live the Justin's in life.

(If you are interested in hearing the song I wrote in remembrance of Justin, just click THIS, and it will take you right to it.)