Chats with People in a Dark Place

Today my friend Masayoshi asked me, "What is it like talking with people who say they are considering suicide?"

Well, it's not what most people would expect.

Of course, each conversation grows out of a different context and attitude towards the world. People find themselves at the dark dead-end of various roads for a rainbow of reasons.

Personal lives matter.

We all knew that. What we don't know is how personal predicaments affect our coworkers and acquaintances.

Clutter and treasure in life add up, sometimes multiplying. Unspoken topics push us either towards hope in God or away from it.

Come volunteer-time seekers discuss significant family stressors with us. We've spoken with those seeking help as they calm down after heated arguments.

Other guests expand on past abuse as it mixes into their current troubles.

We've heard tales of brave battles with pain from prolonged illness and desire for final rest.

It's a profound honor to discover how people are genuinely doing. Choose Life volunteers are privileged to carry the stories that matter most to the human heart.

In return, we offer a sympathetic ear, prayer, and biblical advice. But most of all, we aim to share the world's most treasure hidden a field—the perfect pearl. We exist to share Jesus' hope because He changes everything.

Our chats are filled with the kinds of stories that we tell ourselves and few others.

Yes, the conversations are heavy.

After talking with us, some seekers choose to end their conversation with a final goodbye and intimated resignation to death.

Exchanges of this variety have a loud and have a long echo.

Fortunately, this is not the norm.

The weight of all these conversations stand up in stark contrast to the feathery platitudes that paint our everyday. You quickly realize that much of what passes as conversation doesn't lift the soul.

Here's to praying for the end of deadly despair and braver conversations everywhere.

Let's find ways to serve, lifting our brothers and sisters out of a pit before circumstances push them deeper into it.

Have you had any of these deeper conversations recently?