stop the bleeding peoria.
It’s midnight. I got home about 10 minutes ago from To Write Love On Her Arms. The night was awesome. If Jamie Tworkowski is going to be in your area sometime, make the trek to hear him talk. It’s worth the drive. I didn’t know what to think after reading about it online, but now that I’ve had a chance to meet him and talk with him face to face, I’m convinced that he’s the real deal. Before and after Jamie spoke, Nathan Peterson Band (minus the bassist & drummer) played a few songs. Nathan and his wife Heather have been really close friends of Rachel’s and mine for the past couple of years, so it was a blast hanging out with him and hearing them perform. He’s been writing some new material lately (which they opened the set with) and it sounds really, really good. They are definitely worth the drive to see.
The kids in attendance were really opening up tonight, too. After Jamie spoke, he opened up the floor for a Q & A. Thankfully there were licensed counselors on hand to work with individual kids. And, oh man…their stories… it still sends chills down my spine just to think of how deeply people can be injured. A three year old girl was horribly taken advantage of, so she tried to take her life when she was five years old. By age twelve, she was addicted to cocaine…
A FIVE YEAR OLD attempted SUICIDE.
There is something seriously wrong with that sentence.
I personally dealt with depression and cutting when I was in jr high & high school. It’s only by God’s grace that He brought me out of that with very minor and barely visible scars on my arms. Because of what I went through, I can really empathize with the ones that are currently struggling to cope and dealing with self-mutilation, and I feel that pain coming back again whenever I hear their stories. And in spite of all the hurt and pity that I feel for them… I can’t begin to imagine how much more God’s heart is burdened for us when we destroy ourselves like this and fall into these emotional pits. How much more He hurts for us. It’s so incredibly sad…
It makes me so thankful for guys like Jamie and nights like tonight.
Categorized as Culture, Ministry
Would you mind writing a blog on the rational or mindset behind cutting? I’ve seen kids who work or go to McDonalds around here on occasion with scars and I pray for them. They all seem so proud and in charge of themselves, yet you know there must be emotional scars they are dealing with underneath. Did the speaker recommend ways to “engage” in conversation with these folks? When you are in the mood…appreciated.