Health and Hope

My name is Michael Stick, and I’m blessed to be a part of Blue to the Blind. I love to write and I am currently working on a book called A Father’s Love. As a pastor I’ve seen both the good and bad sides of our humanness.

Since the mid 80’s, I’ve ministered to families in their happiness and in their grief but it wasn’t until tragedy struck my family that I understood the heart wrenching depth of tradegy. Many of my words come from the darkness that permeates my soul. I don’t mean to infer that my writing is negative; in fact, I like to think it’s just the opposite. I mean that I write from a shattered heart that’s the result of losing my wife and son.

On October 5, 2012, my then twenty-year old son, Matt, suffered a psychotic break. He’d been struggling with an undiagnosed mental condition called Bipolar One Disorder. He entered a new reality where his mind was filled with the voices and visions of demons. On that fateful day, he became fully psychotic and believed he had entered that spiritual world. Matt was home alone with his mother, my wife Veronica. He saw and heard the demons possessing and hurting her. He knew he had to save her, so, in an act of love; he destroyed the demons with a knife capable of slaying them. In reality, he stabbed his mother through the heart, killing her instantly.

We’re all on a path to eternity. Some will make wrong choices as we travel through this world and will struggle with the direction that their life should take. Some will take the correct path, but anger, grief, and an unforgiving spirit will cripple them and will steal the joy of life.

I write to help those struggling on this journey. Even though my path is difficult, I know that God’s grace and presence in my life are sufficient. He’s guiding me as I deal with the sorrow of loss. This was my purpose before, and it’s especially strong since my wife’s death and my son’s challenges.

Our lives are not defined by the struggles of this life, but rather how we respond to them. I choose to respond in trust and faith in an everlasting, loving God. I choose to follow Christ. I choose to love my son. This is why I write.