Standing in his shoes
The day was cool and there was a light breeze from the north. It was the day before Stephen’s funeral on Thursday afternoon. As the family sought for understanding to somehow understand why and how he could take his own life, it was important to us to stand in...
Denial and Acceptance
The shock of Stephen’s death and the ensuing despair and guilt soon began to give way to a feeling of denial. I think in all situations like this that our mind somehow loses its balance and its grip on reality. The hurt and pain of the moment shakes us...
They Shall Mount up with Wings of Eagles
The day Stephen died was so full of so many different feelings and emotions. Each one seemed to collide with the next one and sorting each of them out to process them was almost more than I could manage. Throughout my career I always had to quickly assess a...
Acts of Kindness
As you look at the news today, with all the negative press about all the terrible, horrible things going on in the world, sometimes its difficult to believe that there is even one shred of goodness left. For me, it becomes difficult to even watch the news with the...
The Mountain of Despair
It had been what seemed to be an eternity since the deputy visited our house and examined Stephen’s room, taking pictures of his desk and the hand written note he left on it. As I watched him walk about his room, the anxiety built to levels I have seldom...