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• The death of a friend to suicide is, frankly, the most difficult death to face.
  - Illustration: Truman Dollar, one of Dobson's parishioners and a best friend, had been dealing with depression for months when he committed suicide earlier in the week.

• David's lament of Jonathan's death (2 Sam. 1:26) expresses the deep grief when you lose a close friend.
• Truman often told Dobson there were three things in ministry to know:
  - It's never as good as it seems
  - It's never as bad as it seems
  - The greatest myth of all is that you can fix it. It never gets fixed.
• Dobson: "I'm pretty mad at him because he didn't practice what he preached."

• Dobson says he can think of only two answers:
  - None of us will ever really know why
  - It wasn't the Truman we all knew.
• We can only do what is right; we cannot change or control the choices of another person.
• We must not, cannot, accept the guilt and responsibility of another's choices.
• "I hope this doesn't sound uncaring: He failed. He made the choice."

• Some theologians believe you forfeit heaven, but the Bible refutes that: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Romans 8:35). Nothing.
• Truman is in heaven not because of what he did, but because of his faith in Christ.
• Truman is in God's presence, but God was not pleased with what he did.

• Trust God one second at a time, not a day at a time. A day is too long in a crisis.
• Forgive the person who committed suicide for what he/she did.
• Make four resolutions:
  - Do not judge or condemn the person; that's God's responsibility.
  - Do not speculate or gossip; Christians are some of the worst gossipers.
  - Do not judge the person's life by his/her last hour; that's only a tiny percentage of the entire life.
  - Keep on loving and caring for people, even if they rip out part of your heart.

• If you're depressed, seek professional, Christian help right away.