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Holding On to Hope
I once felt as though life wasn’t worth living. As a teenage quadriplegic, I looked down at my useless legs and limp hands and wanted to give up. Without thinking of their feelings, I begged my girlfriends to help me “do myself in.”
Thankfully, they stepped away from my suicidal demands, but they didn’t abandon their hopeless friend. Instead, they prayed for me. They chose to journey alongside and help pull me out of my deep depression. These Christian friends imparted hope through their up-close-and-personal care for me, and they kept me connected to reality—to life.
I am forever grateful that the doctors who attended me after my diving accident still held to the Hippocratic Oath of “do no harm.” Even though medically they could not give me back the use of my hands or legs, my doctors did everything they could to preserve my life. They even heartily applauded my Christian friends when they saw the difference their love made in my life.
How can you roll up your sleeves and share Christ’s hope with those who need to be reminded that life is worth living? Let’s start by praying against horrifically “progressive” views on extending physician-assisted suicide to those who are despairing from depression or chronic disability!