At the edge of the Abyss

The song Master Jack by the Four Jacks and a Jill is playing in my head as I look back on this strange day at the edge of the abyss. It's a strange, strange world we live in, Master Jack. The song does not quite fit the sombre mood but this one line is playing over and over again.

I had an important job interview this afternoon and I slowly prepared for it during the morning but I wasn't prepared for the disasters that were thrown in my path. As I finished dressing in my suit, I realised I could not find the tie that went the shirt I had chosen to wear. As a matter of fact I could not find any ties. I started a search from one side of the cottage to the other but no ties surfaced. Now I was getting worried. The ties must still be packed in one of the boxes in storage. I phoned a friend hoping he would have a tie to match my shirt. But he didn't so we decided to go buy a tie. Getting into the car to rush to the shops I found the tie I wanted to wear in the back of the car. Relief, now I could relax and recollect my thoughts, but another curve ball was thrown in my path, this time a deadly serious one.

Just as I was about to leave my phone rang, it was my sister Theresa in Nelspruit. She was phoning me to inform me that one of my brothers had just tried to commit suicide by swallowing pills and that he was in ICU in Nelspruit. It was like a blow in the solar plexus that came out of nowhere. I was not ready for this and actually lost it.

The news from Nelspruit is that he is in a coma but stable. Please pray for him. Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds the resources for coping with the pain.