The Long Road

Things have really picked up. It's been a quiet summer, but now ministry situations are coming out of the wood-work.

A suicidal member who refuses treatment, and his confused and hurting family who don't know how to deal with him (adult children).
It is SO frustrating that we have little to no mental health professionals and support out here. Folks with issues go untreated for years because of ignorance about these kind of issues, and when they finally do recognize they need help, the options are very limited. There are generations of depression and suicide in many families around here, but no professional help. The local pastor is as close as it gets to help, and we're not trained to give what many of these folks really need!
The son of the man who is suicidal doesn't want to talk to dad because of the hurtful things that were said and done in the big episode that happened before the sheriff's deputies hauled the dad away. And I'm trying to talk to him about his father having an illness, and about the son needing to talk about his feelings, so that he stays healthy. And he's looking at me like I'm speaking a foreign language. But by the end, he'd come to an understanding of what I meant, and what was going to be helpful during this tough time.

Oh Lord, be with this man, his two brothers, and their mom! And be with their dad, help him to seek out the help he needs.

It's going to be a long road.