A Pause for LA – Honoring a Life, Raising Awareness

Content Note:
This post discusses suicide, suicide loss, suicidal thoughts, grief, mental health, emotional pain, or crisis support. Please read with care. If this topic feels activating, it is okay to pause, step away, or reach out for support.

If you are in crisis, thinking about suicide, at risk of hurting yourself, or in immediate danger, call 911, call or text 988, or go to your nearest emergency room. This blog is not monitored for crisis support.

Before we continue with our journey, I need to pause.

Because life isn’t just about what happens to us. It’s about what happens around us. It’s about who I walk alongside. And sometimes… who we lose.

On June 19, 2018, my friend LA died by suicide completion.
Her absence left a silence that still echoes.

And while my blog series has been about the road through chronic illness, faith, and motherhood. I would be doing her, and so many others, a disservice if I didn’t stop to say this out loud:

Suicide is real. It’s devastating. And it’s not the whole story.

For LA

LA was light. She was fierce, funny, and loved deeply. Also, she was human, she struggled, and she mattered.

So, so much.

If you didn’t know her, you missed out on someone truly extraordinary. And if you did know her, then you know the hole her absence left behind.

I will not let her be remembered only for the way she died. LA deserves to be remembered for the way she lived.

The Truth About Suicide

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  Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10–34.

  
  
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  Most people who die by suicide don’t want to diethey want the pain to stop.

  
  
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  Mental illness is not a character flaw or a moral failure.

  
  
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  Asking for help is not weakness. It’s strength.

  
  
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  Talking about suicide doesn’t cause it. Silence does.

  
  

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

If You’re Struggling

You are not a burden. An you are not beyond help. You are not too broken.

Remember, you are loved.
And you are needed.
You are not alone.

Please, please reach out:

Call or Text 988 – Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Chat online at 988lifeline.org
Reach out to a friend, a counselor, a pastor—someone you trust.

You don’t have to carry this alone.

If You’ve Lost Someone

To those who’ve lost someone to suicide:
There are no perfect words. No quick comforts.
But there is space here for your grief. And there is no shame in your sorrow.

Your person mattered.
Your grief matters.

And you are not alone either.

Heartbeat Moment

We’ll continue H’s story soon. But for today, I just want to say:
If you’re hurting, talk.
And if someone crosses your mind, reach out.
If you see someone struggling, show up.

I believe in a God who is bigger than all of this.
But I also believe in a church, a community, a world that must rise up to meet the hurting—before it’s too late.

This post is for LA.
For the ones we’ve lost.
And for the ones still here.
For the hope that whispers: you are not alone.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5

Crisis Support Disclaimer:
This post is shared for awareness, education, encouragement, and stigma reduction. It is not therapy, clinical advice, crisis care, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Reading this blog does not create a therapist-client relationship with Barefoot Faith Journey or Circle of Hope Counseling Services, LLC.

If you are in crisis, thinking about suicide, at risk of hurting yourself, or in immediate danger, call 911, call or text 988, or go to your nearest emergency room. You are worthy of immediate care and support.

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