This morning in our youth group we discussed the "suicide pact" of teenagers Laura Rhodes and Rebecca Ling. It was a really emotional discussion as at least one member of the group had experience of a friend attempting suicide.
We talked about what might lead to that kind of desperation but mostly about what we would say to someone who felt so sad that they would want to end their life.
I linked it in with Psalm 139 (which was conveniently set for today in the lectionary) and its message of God's unchanging and unchangeable presence with us and love for us no matter what we do, no matter how stupid we can be, no matter what anyone else thinks.
All sound very heavy... but in fact we also had a good laugh talking about the stupid things we've done as an example of how God knows everything that we do and loves us even if we're embarrassed by it. We talked about the times when we do or say something really silly and we should know better. Not stuff that's "bad" - just silly things that make us look foolish. I started giving examples and... well the session wasn't long enough! For those of you that might remember them they included:
Jam Night...
the Kew Gardens' Golf course...
and the latest... the youth holiday minibus that looked "just like ours!"
Finally, the challenge I set them and surely the challenge we all face is showing people that God loves them or helping them discover it for themselves.
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