I was so, so sad when I read about someone’s passing away a while back. He committed suicide, leaving behind a young wife and two young children.
I remember talking to a suicide survivor one time when my husband and I we were in London. While having breakfast together, I casually found out that she was a suicide survivor. She was the British lady who owned this beautiful, huge house we stayed in. We usually stay in hotels when in London, but this time we were curious to see what it was like to live in a real English house.
So while having our coffee, I asked her to describe how it was to be depressed, and how she got out of it.
She said she was put in a mental institution for years. For her, being depressed was like being in this deep, dark bottomless pit that got darker and deeper each day. She said it was a physically-heavy darkness pressing down on her body.
I asked her how she got out of the pit. She said one day, a lady visitor randomly talked to her in the hospital. They became friends. The lady visited her for months and told her stories about Jesus. Then later on, the lady asked permission from the doctors to bring her home with her when she (the patient) got better.
The lady brought her everywhere she went – for tea, shopping, dates with friends, the grocery, etc.
Then one day she asked the lady – “Why are you doing this for me? We are not even related.”
The lady held her hand, looked into her eyes and said, “Because Jesus loves me, and He loves you too. That’s why I love you too.”
She said that’s when she finally understood where all this kindness was coming from.
That’s when she slid back into normal life, eventually went back to her home, and opened it to Christian guests who were personally referred to her by her friends. She never advertised. She didn’t need the money because her parents left her a big inheritance.
“Guest in Home” became her personal ministry to Christians. We loved staying a whole week at her place while we caught the plays we liked to watch. She was so kind. A real lady.
Amazing how Jesus can use simple acts of kindness from us to literally save a person’s life. Right here. Right now.
