Book reflection of the month for inspiration, Tina Zahn's "Why I Jumped."  Tina's life was a tangled web of personal tragidies that she had no control over.  Her father committed suicide early in her life and she only regained memories of him after getting a handle on the personal events she had to endure.  Her life all started to unravel at age 5 when her step father, who she was told was her biological father started sexually abusing her.  She was too afraid to tell anyone and when her mother finally found out by walking in on it, the mother baiscally could not deal with it and abandon her own daughter by not talking to her or trying to support her in anyway.

The abuse finally stopped, but no one was willing to go the proper authoriites about it, and Tina certainly did not get any counseling or the support she needed.  She was unable to fully have a full loving relationship with her mother, or brothers and sisters, and that led to troubled relationships with others.  Tina tried to cope by just trying to please others and sacrificing her own well being.  Two abortions later, enstranged from her mother, brother, sisters, she just kept trying to tuck the pain away deeper and deeper inside her.  

Eventually happily married with two daughters, one day it all just welled up from within her and she woke up and was determined to end the pain by jumping off a bridge.  Her husband was home and took a guess as to what Tina had in mind as she sped out of the driveway in the car.  The police were called and were in close pursuit as she drove up an interstate bridge to jump off the top.  Only through God's miracle did a State Trooper get there just a fraction of a second in time and was just able to grab and hold onto her wrist as she jumped over.

Tina finally got the help she really needed and the long road to having true loving and trusting relationships with her husband, children and others.  

In summary, as we interact with many people each day for our careers, school, church, community activies, you never know what others have really been through in life and are struggling with.  Pray not only for those closest to you, but those you encounter each day, you never know what events are hidden inside of person they are trying to cope with.

I don't get to read a lot, so any good book suggestions for inspiraiton, pleae feel free to foward.