It is. I often wonder if we could give that to young people that we might be able to reduce teen suicides. I don't think I ever had what they now call "suicide ideation" back then; but, I certainly didn't want to live. If I'm brutally honest, it was probably only the dogma hammered at us that anyone who commits suicide goes to the all-out Dante-style hell – that's actually what is taught in fundamentalist church doctrine. No matter how good the person may have been or how dedicated to the church, they will be condemned to hell if they commit suicide.

I didn't start really looking toward the future until the sister of my heart pulled me out of that funk and wouldn't let me fall back into it. She really was an angel in my life. Even her mother helped me move forward. They were both invested in my wellbeing for reasons I can only presume to be God-directed.

The sister of my heart became my son's godmother – a role she holds sacred. Her mom appointed herself my son's god-grandmother. They both participated in my son's baptism in the Methodist church. His godmother traveled from DC to MO, and his god-grandmother traveled from Arizona to MO.