Christ Leads The Way

“It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD” (Lamentations 3:26).

This is hard to write.

Earlier this year, someone I loved dearly died by suicide. D’Angelo Joyce was a son, a brother, a nephew, a father, and a friend. He loved learning and exploring all the world had to offer. D’Angelo was one of the smartest people I’ve ever known. I always thought he would be the world’s next brightest theologian.

While he focused a lot of his attention on understanding heavier topics like philosophy, religion, and sociology, he also made time for leisure activities like reading and collecting comic books, watching animé, and catching the premiere of Marvel movies at midnight showings where people often dressed up as characters in the movies. He even dabbled into comedy and enjoyed making people laugh, which he somehow mastered the art of with just a look or gesture in the most inopportune places, like Sunday morning Bible class.

When he learned how to make chili from an elderly Christian woman in Booneville, Missouri, it quickly became his signature dish. And concerned about his fellow Airmen who couldn’t be with their families for the holidays, he invited several of them to have a homemade Thanksgiving dinner while stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi. D’Angelo was affectionate and once gifted his wife with a coupon of 100 kisses to be redeemed at her choosing.

He loved poetry and music lyrics that were skillfully written. Full of his own special abilities, D’Angelo also wrote poetry and proposed marriage with an original poem, asking the enchanting question as an acrostic upside-down. He adored his son. And when he preached the gospel of Christ, he did it with passion, skill, and ease. He was brimming with talent and potential.

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. In 2022, there were 49,476 deaths by suicide. One life taken by suicide is one life too many.

We all have a role to play in suicide prevention. Checking on our loved ones and providing support can go a long way. Look for warning signs: talking about death, pain, or feeling helpless; increased substance use, withdrawing from loved ones, saying goodbye, a decline in hygiene, or stockpiling pills and/or researching or purchasing a gun. If you notice these signs, ask your loved one directly and empathetically if they are thinking about suicide. Make sure to be non-judgmental and actively listen to their concerns.

If you are considering suicide, please know that you are not alone! Your family and friends care about you. I care about you. And the crisis counselors at the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline care about you. Call or text 988 at any time for support. And you can contact me, as well. We are all here for you.

Please consider making a suicide safety plan to keep you safe for now and in the future.

No matter how hopeless, helpless, lonely, trapped, or overwhelmed you feel, you can make it through the difficult times. So, choose life.

There is always hope.

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (Romans 8:25).