A hodge-podge of pills last week landed my daughter a week in the hospital. Suicidal.
Her dad's suicide + depression & anxiety + being the awful age of 13 = a dangerous recipe for disaster.
I'm not even certain if a candid post is appropriate, but I do believe that openness and candidness shows that while other areas in my life may be better than I ever dreamed, real life happens.
Last night I was running late to my Success to Significance study when I slipped in to the table closest to the door to not disrupt the others. In group discussion we were covering positive life experiences then came to another question, "What areas of your life do you feel are out of balance?"
I can be honest and transparent or I can give a safe answer. I chose honesty.
"I just picked my daughter up today from the hospital, she tried to overdose last Wednesday morning. The area where my life is out of balance is my little girl who is hurting desperately from her father's suicide and struggling in ways that I alone cannot help her. That makes me feel out of balance."
Being exactly where I was supposed to be ... the gentleman at my table got tears in his eyes and said, "When my daughter was 13 years old, she tried to commit suicide and spent 1/2 of that year in a psychiatric hospital, I understand how scary that is." The woman sitting next to me took a deep breath and said, "When I was young I tried to kill myself." I wasn't alone at all at this fork in the road place in my life. My new friends could relate in ways I had not imagined. It was their openness and sharing with me was a reminder that nobody escapes this life without troubles.
I knew my running late and slipping into this table was God intervention.
There I sat among a group of Christians who absolutely look as if their life is together while they are searching for significance after success in life. To find out in the midst of their successes, I was among peers that understood more than I ever dreamed.
The woman who tried to commit suicide shared her pain then and understood my daughter. With tears in her eyes she hugged me before I left and said she would be praying for my little girl.
Life happens. Some seasons are calm, some seasons storms will rage. Some seasons are mixed with tragedies and triumphs all at once and that is my season.
The most beautiful part of my day beyond sitting down at the table where I was meant to sit was later when I came home and David stopped by to see Brooke.
We were sitting at the dining room table just talking, the three of us. He was talking to Brooke when she became emotional and walked away into her room. He followed her into her room knowing she was upset and crying to comfort her and finish what he needed to say.
I stood in the doorway watching the scene of this beautiful man who has stepped into our lives and into our hearts. Hugging my hurting little girl until she settled down. I didn't say a word.
My daughter desperately misses her own daddy's affections.
He pulls back to softly talk to her letting her know how important she is to everyone and how much she is loved, his arms never unlock in their embrace. Unrushed, he talks and she listens, then puts her cheek against his chest and stands there in his embrace.
In the midst of a lot going on, beautiful moments continue to happen.
