One time a little while ago, there was a girl who had come through A&E who I got to spend time with on the children’s ward.

She’d been at boarding school most of her life and had a history of troubled relationships with her family. She was very emotionally disconnected.

She was in hospital because she was suicidal and had made an attempt on her own life. She was very matter of fact about the idea of ending her life. To her, it was just a question of when. She said she’d take any opportunity she could get and that was that.

She’d been in the hospital a few days. The staff were working on assessing her mental state so they could make a plan that would enable her to be safely discharged. It was taking more time than normal due to her situation and there lots to consider in order to keep her safe. I was just spending time with her, hanging out.

One day, we were doing some drawing and colouring together. She suddenly said, “If I ever got to be older (which I won’t), I’d invent a medicine so that people don’t have feel the way I do”.

When she said that, I felt God say to me: Tell her, the medicine she needs is love.

I felt really unsure about saying that to her. It felt kind of cheesy.

But then I really felt God telling me that YES I really did have to say it!

So I just told her, “There is something”.

That piqued her interest. “What is it?” She asked.

I told her about love. I explained that when you’re unconditionally loved, it sets you free.

And that was it. A week later, she was discharged.

About a week after that, we heard from her Mum. To our amazement, her daughter had really turned a corner in the way she was interacting with the family and they had started to develop a better relationship. She said that now ‘my daughter is able to express and receive love. That is already very different from before. We are grateful.’