But I am so angry that I have had to put myself in check. You see I have a 10 yr old daughter and I have 3 granddaughters. My wife keeps her cousin’s daughter's, who unless I am wrong are 9 yrs old (twins). But more than that, I have a son who just a little over a year ago, tried to commit suicide himself. When that happened to him, I was angry then as well, but angry at myself because I wasn't able to prevent his attempt. And then to hear about these two girls and their ages, I got mad again. I am mad because my question is WHERE DOES IT STOP? WITH 10 YR OLD CHILDREN, OR DO WE WATCH THE AGES CONTINUE TO GO DOWN WHILE THE SUICIDE RATE GOES UP? I am so sick of seeing so much negativity on the news when it comes to our children. If it's not some adult sexually abusing a child, it’s a child committing a crime, or a child being shot or murdered or dying in a car wreck from too much speed or because they had been drinking or were high on drugs. And now we have to hear about the deaths of children, who really have no idea what death is all about. And to hear that they were bullied in school is why they felt they had no choice but to take their own lives, come on. You see bullies when I grew up were around but ya know what, they were dealt with on so many different levels that we never had to really worry, and it always seemed to pass in a short amount of time for the most part. But in today’s society, it seems that the word bully mans so much more. Today bullying is actually harassment. And it comes in so many forms. There is the oh look at the geek, look at the clothes; you’re so not cool just to name a few. But the biggest difference in bullies today and when I was a kid is how far reaching it is. Back when I was a kid, when you went home you walked into a safe zone. You could do your homework, eat dinner, watch TV, play in the yard, go to a friend’s house and never have to hear or worry about the school bully. But today in our world of social media and smart phones, bullying is 24 hours a day pretty much. It no longer is just bullying, its public embarrassment, public humiliation and the saddest thing is NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE!!!!!
Our schools are so overcrowded according to the teachers that they can't keep an eye on every student. If they could we would have more graduates than we do and our schools would not be in the shape they are. Along with overcrowding, they are severely underpaid in my opinion. Educators are some of the most important people in our children’s lives as they grow. We should pay teachers a whole lot more and CEO's a whole lot less. For without the teachers doing what they do, we would have no educated businessmen out there to run a business and be a CEO. When we send our kids off to school now days, for the most part we send them into a war zone, or a babysitting service, or at some schools we send them into a prison, and the teachers could actually care less in a lot of these schools. Now don't get me wrong , there are a lot of GOOD teachers out there and a lot of GREAT Teachers out there, but it seems there are even more teachers with a flippant attitude, who are more worried about how much more time until summer vacation than how many of these kids will live to graduate?
And I am so confused because I feel like I should be doing something to prevent another child from taking their own life and I have no idea on how to go about doing that. We have got to do something to get these kids to understand that, no matter how dark it looks right now, there is always a brighter day ahead. Psalm 30 reads like this:
A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David.t
1 I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.2 Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit.4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name.5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.6 When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken."7 Lord, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.8 To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy:9 "What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?10 Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help."11 You turned my wailing into dancing;you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.Lord my God, I will praise you forever.
Now if you look closely at a few verses in this Psalm, you will see that the Psalmist is actually telling us that Suicide is not the answer. He tells us that when we call on God he hears us and he will heal us. Now that doesn't mean that all the bad things will stop. Things might even get tougher when we call on the Lord because the last thing Satan wants to see is us reach out to the Lord in a time of trouble. We might think that we have no other choice. That there is nothing left to live for but if we hold on and we call out to Jesus, then "joy comes in the morning". In other words you will find that happiness again because he gives us true happiness. He even goes on to tell us that 'If I am silenced, , if I die , I will go down to the pit and then what if I am in hell then who is going to praise you? Who is going to tell of your faithfulness? The dust? I don't think so. We have got to realize that in our time of trouble, all we have to do is call out to the Lord and in our darkest hour, he is there. He will comfort us, He will heal our wounded hearts and he will replace the darkness with light. THIS IS WHAT WE MUST TEACH OUR CHILDREN OR THIS EPEDIMIC WILL NEVER GO AWAY, AND MORE CHILDREN WILL TAKE THEIR OWN LIFE'S AND MORE PARENTS WILL HAVE TO SIT AND WONDER, WHY?
I have got to tell you. In the last year to year and a half, I have heard the word suicide more than I can remember hearing it in the previous 42 and half years. I have been affected more than I ever thought. From my son who attempted, to a gentleman who was a member of the church I attend, suicide has been in the forefront. I don't know about you folks, but I AM SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING THAT WORD. ESPECIALLY IN RESPECT TO OUR CHILDREN!!!
Help me to pray brothers and sisters, as I feel that I need to do something, and have no idea what. I feel like I am supposed to be reaching out to those who are contemplating suicide, and I have no idea how. I feel like we should set up some type of program to reach out and help them, but I have no idea how. I have a burning in my soul to try to make sure that not another parent has to bury their child due to this disease and epidemic called suicide. I love my daughter, my granddaughters and all children out there, and I cannot bare to see us sit idly by and do nothing.
I know this has not been my usual note but I am telling you this has been burning in my soul ever since I heard about these 2 young ladies. Something has to be done and we have to do it. If we sit around and wait for others, then the blood of our children is on our hands. Lord help us no to be stained by the blood of a dead child that we did not reach out to. God bless you all and have a great night.
In Christ's Love,
Bill Roy
In Memory of :
Jasmine McClain 
Ashlynn Conner
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