STORM2K

Hi there.

In a post about 10 days ago, I asked for prayers for my coworker Tom and his family. It seems his nephew had committed suicide at his home in Alaska.

Ben worked for me for a while...made the trip to Arizona for about a year before returning to Alaska and his family. He was a troubled guy, but had one heck of a good disposition most of the time. He always felt he was not good enough...and yet he really had much more to offer than many...he just couldn't see it clearly.

His 16-year old brother found him..and stayed with him for perhaps 20 minutes before family and the police could arrive. A sad sad story.

Since that time, I have heard from another friend...another tragic story. It seems his brother was driving one day, had stopped for a stop sign and proceeded across an intersection when he was broadsided by two young men on motorcycles. Both were killed instantly.

This young man could not live with the sense of guilt and responsiblity...and while waiting for his day in court to determine if he was legally responsbile in any way for what had happened, his grief overcame him. He too, took his life.

His parents arrived home that day, opened the mailbox, and in it was a letter from the State's Attorney which absolved this young man of any and all legal responsibility in their deaths. When his mom and dad went into the house to tell him, they simply found him on the floor. That was more than 14 years ago.

We all know such tragic stories, but we have a responsiblity as human beings to remind our friends and coworkers and even online acquaintances that life is precious. Never is it so desperate that it is worth such a tragic and final move.

There is always ALWAYS HOPE! And believe it or not, things WILL get better.

Steve - I missed your post about Tom's nephew. That is just so sad. I will keep his family in my prayers. They've certainly been thru haven't they? When I read Tom's name, I feared his cancer had returned. So glad to read that wasn't the case.

Yes hope is always there if we look for it. In my husband's family, we're still coming to terms with our nephew's loss (car accident, 2 years ago to those that don't know). His parents are holding up great, they have 3 other sons to focus on. But Luke's name is mentioned a lot and came up at our family reunion this past weekend. That does seem to help. If I had to give advice to a family who suddenly loses a member at a young age, I would suggest they keep that person's memory alive. Just telling funny stories about our nephew has greatly helped my husband's family. Since his parents are open to mentioning his name, we've all felt very comfortable doing the same. My own daughters talk about Luke I would say on a weekly basis. We miss him terribly but we also know that life does indeed go on. Hard lesson to learn in life though. Very hard.

I'm sorry to hear about the other young man's grief, so much so that he took his own life also. I've never had to grieve over a suicide, that has to be hardest one of all. Loved ones left behind must be wracked with such profound grief and guilt.

Mary