Hello and Goodbye

People pass through our lives every day.  Some are a quick hello and goodbye and some stay in our lives for a longer period of time.  We meet people of all different races, religious and political beliefs, those with blonde hair and some brunette and some redheads.

We see the exterior of each person and some we don’t notice at all.  After all, we are busy people and so is everyone else, right?  Occasionally,  someone comes along who is extraordinarily beautiful or handsome and we notice them.  What we may not see is what they are struggling with inside.   They may be reeling from a breakup with their spouse, or the death of a loved one, but the outside says they are just fine.

The same goes for those of us who go to church.  Many of us dress up, put on a happy face and step into the church, but no one would know that we just had a shouting match with our spouse or our kids before getting out of the car.  We say “hello” to the greeter at the door and force a smile and then greet many others on our way to our seat in the sanctuary.

The recent tragedy in a little church in Texas  makes me think of those congregants who hugged each other before sitting down and after worship, a deranged and bitter man walked into the church and ended the lives of over 25 of the members.  It just seems unbelievable that one minute they were saying hello and a few minutes later they were saying goodbye. Please keep praying for these mourning Texans as they walk through enormous grief.

Another tragedy is when someone loses all hope and commits suicide.  According to statistics, there are on average 121 suicides per day in our country.   Males end their lives about 3-4 times more than females.  How is it possible that suicides rates have risen more than 25% in 15 years?!  There is so  much anger, bitterness, and hopelessness in our world today and people just don’t know how to cope or find the answers to what troubles them.  We, as people look for connection, relationships, love and happiness, but somehow, many don’t know where to find them.

Jesus Christ is the only one who can soothe their soul and help them find the answers to what is consuming them.

This Tuesday on Chained No More Talk Radio, our guest will be Author Karen Dancey and her topic will be “Suicide:  How A Family Can Go On”. She will share her story of her husband’s suicide and other losses in her life and she will share what she learned about on as a family.  Join us at 2pm ET at www.toginet.com

You can also download the podcast later at www.toginet.com/shows/chainednomore.

Take a few moments and read Psalm 121 and know that this passage is for you today.  There is always hope in God if you look for it and receive it.