when someone takes his own life

In many ways this seems the most tragic for of death
certainly it can entail more shock and grief for those who are left behind than any other.
Suicide is often judged to be essentially a selfish act, but the Bible warns us not to judge.

For we know not how many valiant battles such a person may have fought and won
before he loses that one particular battle.
And is it fair that all the good acts and impulses of such a person should be forgotten
or blotted out by his final tragic act?

I think that our reaction should be one of love and compassion not condemnation.
each one of us has our own breaking point.
For some reason life puts more pressure on some of us than others
step back and think how dark desperate and loney he must have felt to think
that this was his only way out.

To those of us left behind ...lift up your heads and your hearts...
and know surely u did your best. know surely Tim did his best for as long as he could.
Remember now that his battles and torments are over.
Do not judge and not presume to fathom the mind of God where this one of his children is concerned.

Our Tim died on his own battlefield. He was killed in action fighting a civil war of his own
that none of us could even begin to imagine.
He fought against adversaries that were as real to him as his ashes are to us here.
They were powerful adversaries. They took toll of his energies and endurance.
They exhausted the last vestiges of courage and strength.
At last these adversaries overwhelmed him and it appeared that he lost the war but did he?

I see a host of victories that he has won!

For one thing...he has won our admiration...because even if he lost the war,
we give him credit for his bravery on the battlefield.
We give him credit for the courage and pride and hope that he used as his weapons as long as he could.

We shall remember not his death but his daily victories gained through his kindnesses and
thoughtfulness through his love for his family and friends, animals and all things beautiful.
We shall remember the many days that he was victorious over overwhelming odds.
We shall remember not the years we thought he had left but the intensity with which he lived
the years he had.

Remember Tims smile and the happiness he had when he was with us.
i will never forget his voice saying..."My sister what are you doing?"