Saying ‘yes’ to life saves a life

Yesterday afternoon I had a choice to make—stay home after spending three days in Rochester during a leadership conference with my fellow Salvation Army officers, or go back to my workplace at the West 7th Salvation Army in St. Paul and teach Cub Scouts classes in the evening.

I chose to say “yes” to life, just as we had been challenged to do at the conference by retired General John Larsson. To say “yes” to life is to choose not to miss out on the sacred tasks God has in store for us.

After teaching my first pack of Cub Scouts, I went to the dining hall for Family Supper Club. My wife stopped me and said, “There’s a young man in the foyer who said he was just released from a mental institution. I don’t know if he should be around the children. You should go talk to him.” I did as I was told.

The 21-year-old man’s name was Mitch. His first words were, “I think I’ve gone crazy.” I asked, “Why do you think that?” He said, “I just drove here from Duluth in about 90 minutes. I was going 120 mph all the way looking for an underpass to run into to end my life. But I didn’t have the guts to do it. Then my car ran out of gas on 7th Street and I walked 12 blocks to get here.” I asked him, “What made you come to The Salvation Army?” He said, “I don’t know. I just did.”

Then Mitch began to tell his story. He had not left a mental institution, but thought he needed to go to one. He has suffered from severe depression since age 12. Six weeks ago his doctors had prescribed him a new medication. For the past two weeks he was having suicidal thoughts and felt the time had finally come to end his life.

For the next 30 minutes or so, I talked to him about life and the Lord. His response was, “If there even is a God.” Then he asked, “Do you really believe there is a God?” I said, “Not only do I believe there is a God, but I believe that He sent you here. I believe God planned for you to run out of gas down the street and I believe that He directed you to The Salvation Army. Mitch, God does not want you to die. He wants you to live.”

I told him that we needed to call his parents, otherwise I would have to call the police (for he was also considering jumping off a building). I called his mother. She said that he had left Duluth early in the day with their car and had no idea what had happened to him. When I told her the story, she began to sob. I offered to stay with Mitch until they arrived from Duluth, but his father was so concerned that he might run again that he asked me to call the police. So I did.

Before he got into the squad car with the police officer, I asked him for his car keys so that I could help his parents find their car. His parents arrived three hours later, got their car and left for Regions Hospital.

Our front desk receptionist later told me that Mitch had walked into the corps hours earlier and was hanging around waiting for something.

I am so proud that the doors of The Salvation Army were open for Mitch to come in. I am so proud that our staff allowed him to hang around the building. And I am so humbled that the Spirit of God led me to say “yes” to life so that He could save a life.

Self worth…priceless

Driving down interstate I-94 each day during rush hour traffic can be very frustrating. I try to take my mind off of the traffic by checking out the billboards that line the interstate. They change the billboards often, and it doesn’t take me long to notice that there are new ads. A few weeks ago I came across a billboard that said “Recession 101: Self worth beats net worth”.

I stared at the billboard for several seconds and read the sentence over again. Self worth beats net worth. Of course it does! It is a perfect reminder to those who have taken pay cuts or changed jobs due to the economy. Right now, many people are taking the first job they are offered, just so they can keep a roof over their head and food on the table. There are people with a Master’s degree who are applying for Bachelor’s level jobs. There are even people who are switching professions and taking major pay cuts.

The Salvation Army territorial office in Chicago graciously distributed funds to the Salvation Army units in Minnesota and North Dakota to use to help people who had been laid off from their jobs due to the downturn of the economy. Our office got a large chunk of funding. With this program, we are able to assist individuals with rent, pay a utility bill, or give several bus cards for job search or interviews. We even have Target giftcards to issue if clients need basics, such as personal hygiene or toilet paper.

One person that I helped was laid off of his job after 12 years. He relocated to Minneapolis, and was staying at an overnight shelter. He heard about the program through an acquaintance staying at the same shelter, and visited our office. He explained that another organization was helping him with his damage deposit, and he needed help with the first month’s rent because he was short due to the relocating fees. We were able to assist him with the first month’s rent, so now he is no longer homeless. We have helped a handful of people escape eviction with this funding when many other agencies will not help them due to income guidelines.

We must remind each other that your job is not who you are. It is a part of your life, but there are so many more important parts of your life that make you who you are. Family heritage, values, traditions, memories and other parts are more important than how much money you make at your job. Someone who is an executive at a large company and makes hundreds of thousands of dollars and has no support system can be one of the most miserable people on earth, while an auto mechanic who has good relationships with all of his family members and uses them as a support system can be the happiest man on earth.