Don't Give Up

When I logged in to Facebook around mid-morning this morning, I was met with the news that Kate Spade (a famous designer) had committed suicide. No one knew that she was struggling with anything. She seemed like a happy mom of a 13 year old. There will be many questions over the next few months as to why she did this.

Living in this world is hard. It doesn't matter your circumstance, your struggles, your battles. Life doesn't take any of that into account. However, God tells us that in this life we WILL have many troubles. Another thing to remember is that life is this way because we live in a fallen, sin filled world. I do believe that life has become so much harder since the age of social media has started. We all feel that we must be perfect. We feel that we must put up a perfect life on the internet so that everyone will think  we have it all together. When in reality, we often don't have it together at all. We are often holding on by a tiny thread that can break at any moment.

There are many times when I feel like I am drowning. I say this because I have a loving, helpful spouse and a great support system. Many times in a week, I feel overwhelmed. When I feel like this, I don't know what to do or where to go. Most of the time I just keep pushing through. I feel lucky to have so many great people around me to support me. The problem is that a lot of people don't have a good support system, if any at all.

The hardest thing to admit to is that even though I have such a wonderful support system, there are many times that I find myself sitting in isolation. When living with a child that has a severe medical condition, being the full time care-giver of an aging parent, or living in a difficult situation, the first thing that seems to grab hold is isolation. The situation and the devil have a way of getting into our brains to tell us that no one will understand what we are going through. That no one wants to hear what is going on or wrong with us. That isolation can cause us to think that we don't matter to anyone. It can cause us to think that it is not okay to reach out for help of any kind.

I know that there are a lot of people out there that say everything is going to be ok, ask for help, etc. It is easy to say those words and never follow them up with actual actions. When that happens, it can further deepen the false words that you don't matter.

I am writing this to tell you (and me) to not give up. There is someone that loves you and is counting on you. Keep fighting. Find someone that you trust that you can talk to. You can talk to me - I'm a great listener (or so I've been told).

Please don't give up. You are so loved.