Hope Beyond Despair: Finding Truth After A Loved One’s SuicideChikamu

LIE #6: Suicide is a genetic trait or a family curse, so there is no hope for my family.

Seven months after my brother died, my 14 year-old cousin hung herself with a belt in her closet. My young sons had been exposed to the suicides of two family members in less than a year. I worried our sons might someday do the same. I was feeding on the lie that my future was doomed due to my family’s “tradition” of committing suicide. 

TRUTH: Suicide is a sinful choice.

Suicide is not a genetic trait nor is it a family curse. It is a sinful choice. My loved ones’ choice to commit suicide was a self-centered act that failed to account for the devastation it would cause others. I dearly loved my family members who committed suicide, but what they did was wrong. I don’t judge these loved ones for their choice. I have compassion for the pain they suffered, but I sure wish they had chosen differently.