Triumph

There are many different types of pain in this world and one I’ve come to know as the worst is the thought of knowing that your loved ones are hurting. Seeing your people hurt and not being able to do anything about it is a heartache nothing can numb, words can’t explain and comfort can’t touch. People will tell you, “it’s going to be okay” numerous times, but in times of tragedy those words just don’t hold the same power or reassurance. While yes, eventually everything will be okay, what I hope to instead emphasize is the importance of what you do in the time it takes to get there, where you go from here, how you treat yourself and people around you from here. 

Think before you say anything, do anything. Think before you send that screenshot of someone else in your group me, think before you judge someone without even knowing the real story, think before you hide behind that screen and write those negative comments, think before you say sarcastic or demeaning words to anyone including your friends, think before you act on anger or jealousy, think before you do anything at all that might harm another human being. Though we have heard this many times before, we never know what kind of battle another is facing, and sometimes the most broken of hearts hide behind the biggest smiles. God made us all totally and completely, 100% different, and while that is beautiful it also allows for us to hurt one another because we all handle pain differently. We react, manage, process, feel and deal with pain differently. Therefore, we don’t know of the enormity of power our words or actions have on one another. We are so embarrassed to ask for help or admit fault that we result to torturing ourselves and others instead. When did weakness become something people feel they can’t admit? Why do our lives have to be something we are so afraid of living? Who told us to be ashamed or embarrassed of our feelings? It takes more strength, more respect and more bravery to ask for help and admit fault than it does to tough it out on our own. Look around you at all the remarkable people God has placed in your life in order to help you live it. Each of these people have such a special, unique and fulfilling purpose in your life and disallowing them to help you with the tough stuff prevents them from living up to their full potential as a friend. 

The people on this earth, the friends we get to do life with are gifts sent from God above because He intended for them to be cherished, admired, appreciated, discovered, treasured and loved. We all feel, want, need, desire, struggle and strive for the same things, in different ways, but at the end of the day we are all just trying to get along. It's easy to make assumptions or expectations about someone from a distance, but there is always so much more to a person than what lies upon the surface. Each of us have a core and in that core holds all the characteristics of the person God made us to be. But we focus so much more attention towards that outside impression when our inner appearance is much different. We have to start giving more attention to the core of who we are or we will lose ourselves, we will lose the most attractive things that make up a human being. 

Never feel ashamed or embarrassed or hesitant towards asking for help because this world needs you. And never feel ashamed, embarrassed or hesitant towards telling someone who has even remotely impacted your life how much their existence matters to you. We have to stop making the world harder for each other to live in, and we have to stop battling with our own demons because we are too afraid of weakness. You are too wonderful for anyone not to get the chance to experience you. And while there may be things that exhaustingly try to make you feel otherwise, you have got to remember that God purposefully picked a spot on this earth for you and in the lives of others because he wanted YOU to live in it.
This post is for everyone who's ever lost someone to suicide. This post is for everyone who's ever contemplated suicide. We are all sinners, we've all made mistakes, said things we don't mean, had negative thoughts about ourselves, and we've all felt so low the way out seems impossible. I too have struggled with each of these things before. Please give God a chance. Allow for Him to show you the life He always originally had planned for you because I promise He will come through every single time but we have to do our part in trusting Him. One of the most difficult things to endure is the time it takes to get to that point when everything is okay again, but going through that journey is crucial towards the happiness I promise you will discover. 
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8. There is someone out there for everyone, someone who loves you so deeply, someone whose heart is filled by you, shattered without your existence and there are hearts out there waiting to be touched by you. We have a duty to one another not just to hang on for ourselves but for each other. 

As I said in the beginning, one of the worst pains is watching and knowing that your loved ones are hurting. What gives me hope though is that each of these loved ones of mine carry some of the biggest hearts, they recognize and encourage perseverance and they so bravely demonstrate strength in times of darkness because they too are hopeful. There are a few things I think that are of utmost importance for a human being to strive to be. Selfless, compassionate, understanding, forgiving, perceptive and kind. Each of these things play a huge role in the way we treat others and ultimately how we treat ourselves. Please, please, please always remember that it is so much more important to be kind than it is to be liked. 

“There is a sacredness in tears. There are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.” -Washington Irving

Tell your loved ones you are there for them. Tell your loved ones why they are of importance to you. Tell your loved ones of their potential. I don’t care who it is, let it be each and every single one of them, tell your loved ones how much they are loved by you.
In Memory of Davis Cook