Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk

On Monday, March 6, 2017 we received word that our 24 year old son Aaron had passed away. I will never forget what I was doing at that moment. What was it?

First, the back story. In January, 2017 our family traveled to Washington DC. One day while riding the Metro, I noticed a poster. It caught my attention and intrigued me so much that I took a picture of it. Later I checked out the website and discovered the overnight “Out of the Darkness” walk sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I was surprised to find out that there are two of these overnight walks this year, one in DC and one in San Diego. I considered doing the walk, but I decided the date wasn’t convenient. I thought about the walk a few times and talked to my husband and sister about it.

Near the first of March, something changed. Suddenly, I could not get this walk out of my mind. I thought about it constantly and I knew that God was prompting me to take action. Finally, the evening of March 6^th, I could wait no longer. I called my sister Jenny and told her I HAD to register for the walk immediately and I invited her to join me. She agreed and we spent an hour registering, planning our team details, and working on our fundraising pages.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. John answered it and stepped outside onto the porch. I paid very little attention because I was absorbed in my computer and talking to Jenny on the phone. Then my 5 year old daughter Lavender asked me, “Why is Daddy talking to the cops?” I set down my computer and ended my phone call. I put on a video for Lavender and went outside. My husband was on the phone with a detective in Utah. Our local sheriff’s department had given him the number and asked him to call regarding an urgent matter inolving Aaron.

When he ended the call and told me our son was gone, we cried and hugged and spent the rest of the evening talking to our children and close family members. It wasn’t until the next day that I realized the irony, or perhaps the miracle of what I had been doing when we learned that Aaron was gone. God knew and He prepared me for that moment.

To learn more about the Out of the Darkness overnight walk, click the link below.

http://www.theovernight.org/participant/MelanieHartzell