Humpty Dumpty climbed up a wall
You see Humpty was down in the dumpties, there was a lot going on for this poor little egg. There were expectations, life, bills and study and the family and, and, and . . . So Humpty decided to climb a wall and escape the rat race of life just for a moment—you know, just take some time to breathe. Unfortunately, life wasn’t that terrific from on top of the wall either. Overwhelmed with life he’d had enough and so . . .
Humpty dumpty had a great fall
You guessed it. There was only one option in poor Humpty’s mind, and it seemed a pretty good option, well at the time anyway. Luckily a good Samaritan shopkeeper from over the road had witnessed the whole event and immediately set down what he was doing and administered first aid. He called for help and made sure Humpty would pull through. Humpty may have had a few lumps and bumps and some bits of shell cracked off here and there but all up he was going to be OK. The shopkeeper and the townspeople were upset; they knew this “good” egg and didn’t realise he wasn’t doing so good after all.
You see Humpty would have been OK if it wasn’t for the cracks that were already forming in his shell that he hid under his clothes or behind his warm and captivating smile. He was always the life of the party and would do anything for anyone who was in need. How could such a good egg have got so broken and no-one even noticed?
Just in the nick of time . . .
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Arrived to help poor humpty get to the hospital and get him all patched up. There was one problem though: Humpty was carrying way more shell than could fit around one good egg’s perfect oval body.
You guessed it, they . . .
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
You see Humpty was carrying the weight of everyone else’s problems. He even carried eggshell thrown at him through insults and criticism. Humpty had been used and abused, rolled around and pushed aside. But he tried to be better and he put all his effort into being nice in return. People liked him. He was dependable and would do anything for anyone. Sure, people took advantage of his generosity, but for one or two kind words, it was worth it. They took what he gave and left him with their broken eggshells.
Humpty realised he couldn’t carry the weight any longer. Their expectations far surpassed what he could ever hope to give, and that’s when it all fell apart.
Once all the scars had healed and they had painted over all the cracks, they wrapped him in cotton wool, sent him to a dozen psychologists and counsellors who tried to put all the extra broken pieces back in. They realised they were never going to fit, wrote a script for some antidepressants and told him to go home and imagine a better life over the wall.
Then one day Humpty met a Person who was different to all the others. He told Humpty He could help him. And one by one, they took all the broken pieces and put them where they belonged. Humpty got better because he realised there was Someone who truly loved him and wanted to help him.
The story doesn’t end there-the Person showed Humpty that you don’t have to try and put all the pieces back together. It is important to deal with things and grow from them, even when they are so painful and personal. Some pieces were never Humpty’s to begin with—he realised all the insults and the abuse wasn’t his problem. Sure it hurt but the other person must have felt so much worse, to consider such a thing. Humpty learned to forgive others and himself. He introduced others to his Friend and his Friend helped them too.
Humpty still goes and sits on that wall to this day. Sure he still gets sad sometimes. He still feels the bite of depression hit and the trials of life and the pain of the past become overwhelming. He still takes his medication. But Humpty knows that when he calls out for help, his Friend will be there in a jiffy and knows exactly what to do to make things better.
Depression and suicide are real. They hit you when you least expect it and don’t let go easily. Don’t wait till it’s too late-seek help (including professional help and medication), there is no shame in it. The greatest shame is losing some of the most beautiful people in the world because they didn’t realise how amazing they were.
To learn more about depression and suicide, visit Beyond Blue. For crisis support or suicide prevention, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (AU), 0800 543 354 (NZ), 1543 (Fiji), 3260011 (PNG) or equivalent in your country.
Jason Drury is a Pastor in the South New South Wales Conference.
