Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month

Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

June is Men's Mental Health Awareness Month. I confess; I didn’t know that until now.

Three months ago, our son Coulter took his own life.

Since then, I have been wrestling with a question:

“How can someone, so deeply loved, outgoing, funny, strong, surrounded by family and friends, grounded in faith, and with such a beautiful life to live, believe the lie that he was not enough?”

Too many families have asked a similar question about a son, a husband, a father, a brother, or a friend. And too many people listen to that lie: I am not enough; not good enough, attractive enough, smart enough, successful enough, strong enough, talented enough; I am not valuable enough.

Coulter was loved beyond measure. He knew he was loved. He heard it daily. He was surrounded by people who cherished him and felt blessed to have him in their lives. But somewhere along the way, he began to believe something different about himself.

That painful reality forced me to realize the importance of talking about mental health, especially among men. Approximately 80% of suicides in the US are men, with suicide a leading cause of death in almost every demographic.

Sometimes the strongest people carry burdens they were never meant to carry alone, and no one else can see.

We convince ourselves that asking for help is weakness or worse, that we are a burden, when the people who love us would gladly help us carry the weight.

The burdens we hide do not disappear. They are either shared with those who love us, or they eventually become a weight carried by the people we leave behind.

If you are struggling with a heavy burden, let someone help you carry it. Talk to someone: your family, a friend, a pastor, a counselor. Talk to God.

Know that the world is a better place with you in it, and your value is not determined by your circumstances, your achievements, your failures, or where you are in life. Your value comes from being created in the image of God and the immense love He has for you.

No matter what lies you may hear in the quiet moments alone, they do not change this truth:

You Are Loved More than You Know.

#CoultersLight