The fashion business and the entertainment industry were
rocked this week by the deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony
Bourdain. Making the news even more painful, if possible, is
that both were confirmed suicides. Though I have never
met either of these celebrities, I grieve for their friends and
family left behind.
Suicide is such a painful topic that most families simply want
to sweep it under the rug. I think it pains us because we
cannot have answers (this side of Heaven) to all the questions
we wonder about. A young man I grew up with committed
suicide a few years ago, and even though we hadn’t
been close for some time, I wonder what I could have done
differently.
But however much we have to grieve during our time on
earth, there is good news. In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 16-17
Paul wrote “We are hard pressed on every side, but not
crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not
abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. … Therefore we
do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light
and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glo-ry
that far outweighs them all.”
When we walk with God, we may suffer but He will not allow
us to be destroyed! This means there is always, always
hope! And when we share that, Philippians 2:15 says “Then
you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold
firmly to the word of life.”
Blessings,
Pastor Cindy