And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
-Matthew 28:20b

Driving to school this morning, NPR was playing in the background. The story came on about a suicide bomber in the capital city of Afghanistan. Vincent asked, "What are they talking about? What's the story about?"

I said that there was a lot of violence in Afghanistan and bombings. And then he asked, "What is suicide?"

Now I have been thinking a lot about this topic because of the recent Netflix show about it. As a staff, we have had meaningful conversations about how we believers can show love to people struggling with this sort of pain and anxiety. And I've had many conversations with parents recently. So I did my best to explain that suicide is when someone ends their own life. That it happens because something in their brain is lying to them. That depression is when your brain is sick and tells you that things are not going to get better or that you are all alone. And that it's very scary for people. And as we pulled up to the curb, I turned around and told him, "You are never ever alone." 

And then I did our little ritual that we do every morning when I drop them off. I had him repeat after me... "I am good. I am smart. I am loved." And I say, "Yes you are." And then I make the sign of the cross on his forehead and tell him God loves him and everyone he will meet. 

And he turned to me and said, "You know how you said I'm never alone? The proof was the cross on my forehead." Big grin. 

In that moment, I was reminded that Christ's promise to always be with us is present in the Holy Spirit and the ways we are Christ-like to one another. Christ keeps his promise spiritually so that none of us is ever alone, and bodily in how we show and speak love to those around us, deliberately. My prayer today is that each of you will find ways to help every hurting person in your life feel not alone, to remember that almost everyone is hurting, and to know that you are loved more than you know. The world can lie, pain can lie, and even your own mind can lie. But the truth is you are never alone. The proof is in the cross. 

Prayer for Today

Lord, help me remember I am never alone and to always reach out in love so everyone I meet never feels alone either. Surround us in your spirit. Amen.