Reaching Out To The Hurting Messages

The messages in audio are on my YouTube playlist at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfMRv647JQfE1TzlDkHeRyQKRbkbbM1oX 

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These messages and more are in audio on my
Spoken Word: Reaching Out To The Hurting playlist at
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfMRv647JQfEvrflloJ5X876-L8aI14Uo

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"Another Answer" Text
Are you so depressed that you can't focus on anything? Do you want to give up? Do you wish you didn't care anymore? I've been there. I was there most of my life. Do you want to end everything? If that is how you feel, please reach out. Reach out to family. If you don't have family that you trust or don't have family at all, reach out to a friend. If you don't have a true friend, reach out to someone at school or at work. If you can't reach out there, reach out somewhere else. Please reach out to someone. There are people that honestly care. Please do not end everything. There is another answer. I don't know you and I don't know what you are going through. That does not mean I do not care. I honestly pray for the hurting. I may never actually meet you, but I will always pray for you. 

"Reaching Out To The Hurting"  Text
So many are depressed and hurting emotionally. Some are okay emotionally. Many are going through physical pain. It could be an injury. It could be from an accident. The physical pain could come from an illness. Or it could be a chronic health issue. Maybe it started as a kid. Or maybe it started as an adult. Many suffer because they don't have enough of what they need. It is hard when you struggle to have enough food. It is rough if you have nowhere to live or live in a rough place. So many suffer in so many ways. The health issues and disability I have is rough. But many have it rougher. I struggle with having enough to eat. But many have nothing to eat. Whatever you are going through, it matters. Don't compare it to someone else and think it doesn't matter. Pain is pain. The reason isn't always important. Whatever you are going through, please reach out. There are people that care. There are places that can help. Please reach out. Don't give up. I pray for the hurting so I am praying for you. Text

"Reaching Out To The Depressed"  Text
There are so many that are depressed and hopeless. I know how that feels. Growing up, I felt helpless and hopeless. I wasn't living. I was existing. No one seemed to know. I was always angry or depressed or both. I always wanted to escape reality. I wanted to escape everything. I still get depressed but I don't feel like I'm drowning in it anymore. I have hope that I didn't have then. So many things can make us depressed. Depression can be based on situations. It can be based on what's going on in our own head. It is hard to see past depression. Especially if you have no one you can tell things to. I have been there a lot. There are people that care but it can be hard to find them. It can take time to find them. I don't know you and I don't know what you are going through. But I care. I pray for the hopeless and helpless every day. So I am praying for you. I hope you have someone in your life that you can talk to. I hope you have someone you can share things with. If you don't, I hope you find them soon. Whatever you are going through, please don't give up. Whatever you are feeling, please hang in there. Don't suffer alone. Reach out to someone. Please don't give up. Find a way to hang in there. I'm not saying it is easy. I know it isn't. But please find a way and don't give up.

"Reaching Out To The Depressed part 2" Text
I don't know how I got through the depression all those years. I guess I could fake that I was all right. But I never was. I didn't have anyone I could share all the darkness I felt. Sometimes listening to Michael Jackson's music helped me escape for awhile. I would put headphones on and blast the music. I wanted to drown everything out. I just wanted to escape the constant pain. When I started writing, I could temporarily escape into that. I have written several poems during depression. I believe during that time I opened myself up to strongholds that I am still struggling to end. I didn't know it at the time. I would say I thought my heart was broken but I never felt my heart was whole to start with. Maybe it was before the arthritis started when I was 4. I don't remember anything before that. All I remember is the physical pain of my disability. All I remember is the deep emotional pain I felt. I honestly do not know how I made it through. Somehow the Lord got me through even before I knew Him. He got me through even before I believed in Him. Back then, I had no hope. There are still times I get extremely depressed. It is not easy to escape from depression. Many times my only motivation for doing something is to try to honor the Lord. Now, when it gets bad I cry to the Lord. I talk to Him then I lean back and cry for awhile. Sometimes I can escape it through my writing or through watching Batman. Sometimes I just have to cry until the Lord pulls me out of it. There have been so many times I have given up. But the Lord won't let me stay there. He is faithful even when we are not. I am sharing this hoping that it can help someone somehow. It is hard to be deeply depressed. It is hard to have no one to talk to. It is hard to feel surrounded by pain. I know. On top of all that, I had severe physical pain. Somehow I made it through even though I never thought I would. I don't know the pain you are going through but I do understand constant pain. I've been there. I'm still there. Somehow you have to hold on. Escape in safe ways. Cry. But please don't give up. Reach out. It can feel like no one cares and no one will care. But there are people that care. Sometimes we have to wait to find them. Somehow we have to hold on until we find them. Please don't give up. Please don't quit trying. You are important. You do matter. You are meant to be here. Please keep holding on. I pray for the hopeless every day so I can honestly say I am praying for you.

"Reaching Out To The Depressed part 3"  Text
I don't think anyone truly gets over depression. Especially if they suffer from deep overwhelming depression. I guess it depends on what caused the original depression and how deep the feeling was at the start. It is so hard to break the chains of depression. Situations can get better. That doesn't mean the depression is gone. You might seem okay. You might even think you are okay. Then bam you are depressed again. Maybe you don't even know why you are depressed. Maybe something or someone triggered it. Or maybe you were not actually okay. Sometimes we are good at faking being okay. My default response to how am I is to say "I'm fine". If I meant okay I would say okay. Sometimes we get in a pattern of doing things because that's what we do. I have lived with it so long. I don't always feel deeply depressed but it isn't always hard to trigger that feeling. It's like I'm always on the edge of depression and just need something to tip it over the edge. I know I never pull myself out of it. It is the Lord that pulls me out of my deep depression. I have escape mechanisms. I have ways to cope. But when I'm deeply depressed. Only the Lord pulls me out of it. Sometimes when I am depressed I start doing things to honor the Lord. That is my biggest motivation for doing things even when I'm not deeply depressed. Sometimes depression comes out as anger. Sometimes it comes out as feeling so low you don't care. Or you don't want to care. If you feel any of this, you are not alone. Don't be hard on yourself if you can't seem to beat depression. The decision to not give up when you so badly want to is huge. Don't give up. Don't deal with it alone. Even if you don't have a family member or a good friend, there are still people you can reach out to. Figure out who is best for you and reach out to them. Even if the depression is so deep and so dark that you can't verbally share it. Even if you just talk about something that normally makes you feel better. Reach out to someone. Don't give up. And don't give in. Take it one day at a time. One second at a time if you have to. Find a way to hang in there and keep hanging in there.

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"Reaching Out To The Abandoned"  Text
Will this person leave too? Do they really care? Will they get tired of me? Am I too much? Are they for real? Maybe I should guard my heart. Maybe I should leave before they leave me. It is hard to trust if you have been abandoned. Abandonment comes in more than one form. A person can leave us physically. They can leave us emotionally by not being there for us anymore. Now, we are afraid others will leave us. We are unsure if they care about us. We wonder what we did to make the others leave us. It is often nothing we did. People are people. No one is perfect. I can't explain why some leave us. There can be many reasons. It hurts when people leave us. It hurts deeply. It is hard but we can't hold on to that fear. We can't let it rule our lives. We can't always worry that everyone will abandon us. We need to pray on that. Sometimes we need to tell someone how we feel. Never let that fear stop you from letting people in. 

"Reaching Out To The Lost And The Missing" Text
No home to live in. No roof over my head. It is cold and rainy. It is hot and steamy. The wind is blowing so hard. All I can see is my tears. Will I eat today? Will someone hurt me today? If you are lost or missing, please reach out. Please do not give up hope. There are people that honestly care. I pray for the lost and the missing every day. So I am praying for you. 

"Reaching Out To The Abused" Text
Will he hit me today? Will she yell at me? Why does he laugh when I cry? What did I do? Why do they hate me so much? Why am I so worthless? How can I avoid being hurt today? Should I run away? Where will I go? Will they find me? Will it be worse if they find me? Can I trust anyone? I'm trapped. What do I do? Abuse comes in many forms. Abuse can be physical. It can be hitting and pushing. It can be more. Abuse can be emotional or mental. It can be yelling and screaming. It can be putting you down. So many are abused in so many ways. No one has a right to hurt you. If you are being abused, please tell someone. Please reach out. There are people that honestly care. There are places that can help. I pray for those in danger so I am praying for you.

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"Reaching Out To The Suffering"  Text
So many suffer every day in many ways. Physical suffering is hard. Emotional suffering is a different kind of hard. Any suffering is hard to deal with. It is hard to be strong when you feel weak. It is hard to think straight when your head is spinning. It is hard to care when all you feel is pain. I mean it when I say I know how that feels. I mean it when I say I am praying for you. 

"Reaching Out To The Sick And The Disabled" Text
What does it feel like to feel sick all the time? What does it feel like to always feel weak and tired? What does it feel like to always be in pain? What does it feel like when you can't walk or can't walk without help? What does it feel like to not be able to do things that others take for granted? This is only part of what I feel every second of every day. So many suffer with all kinds of health issues or disabilities. Some we can see by looking. Some we can't see by looking. Some are minor. Some are intense and major. Whatever you are going through, please hang in there. Please keep hanging in there. It is hard to keep going but please keep going. I am praying for you.

"To The BrokenHearted" Text
I would say I was brokenhearted for most of my life. But I never thought my heart was whole to begin with. Maybe it was before the arthritis. I honestly don't remember anything before that. I spent so much time in deep depression. It was all I knew. I still sink there but the Lord won't let me stay there. He pulls me through every time. I know I never pulled myself through. There are many that are currently brokenhearted. If you are one of them please don't give up. I don't know exactly what you are feeling. Don't pretend you are okay. If you're not okay, you're not okay. Cry. Scream. Escape in safe ways. Please reach out to someone. There is a lot of cruelty in this world but there are a lot of people that honestly care. Every day I pray for the hurting so I am praying for you.

"How To Deal With Stress"  Text
How do we deal with stress? I had this thought in my head but I am not sure I am the best to answer that. So many things can stress us out. Pain. Heartache. Grief. Loss. Things people say and do. Our own health. That list can go on and on. So how do we deal with stress? Giving up is not the answer. Giving in is not the answer. No matter how badly we want to we can't give up and we can't give in. It is okay to cry. We will get sad or mad.  But we have to keep going. We have to take it one day at a time. Sometimes we have to take it one minute at a time. I will keep praying for me and for you. Don't give up.

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"How Do I Go On" Text
How do I go on when everything hurts so much? There is nothing but pain. Everything hurts. I feel drained and sick all the time. How do I go on? How do I keep going? How do I trust anyone when so many have betrayed me? How do I care when so many have abandoned me? How? How do I go on? How do I do it? I don't know how. I don't know if I even care anymore. That was how I felt most of my life. Just making it one more second was a struggle. My life is still filled with pain. I still feel drained and sick. But I go on because the Lord won't let me completely give up. I go on because He helps me go on. I go on because of the inspiration the Lord fills me with. I go on because I want to honor the Lord. I go on because I want to help, comfort, encourage, and inspire others. Whatever you are going through, please find a safe reason to go on. 

"Hanging In There" Text
I say hanging in there is better than not hanging in there. Not hanging in there means we gave up. Giving up is never a good option. Hanging in there may be the hardest option. It is hard to hang in there when everything hurts so much. It is hard to hang in there when others hurt us so deeply. It can feel impossible. But we have to do it. Giving up is not an option I like. No matter how hard it is I have to keep hanging in here. I have to decide every moment to continue to hang in here. I doubt I could if the Lord did not help me hang in here. Whatever you are going through, keep hanging in there.