A year after his son’s suicide, popular evangelical pastor Rick Warren is taking on a new mental health ministry inspired by his personal tragedy. And so my hope is stronger than it ever has been.LAKE FOREST, Calif. Those are things that are absolutely certain. I'm absolutely certain that I will join Matthew in Heaven because Jesus is alive. "I have a certain hope that God will make all things right and He will rebuild the ruins of our lives. And so, I'm absolutely 100 percent confident based on the work of Jesus that Matthew is in Heaven," she said. Matthew gave his life to Jesus when he was a little boy. "God's promised us that Matthew's salvation was safe and secure. In a previous interview with The Christian Post, Warren said she firmly believes that Matthew's salvation is "safe and secure." Today, it is a major part of the church's care initiative. Over the last few years, the Warrens have pushed to bring mental health to the forefront of Saddleback's ministries. The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that one in five teens ages 13-18 live with a serious mental illness. So, joy for me now, and hope for me is not about what happens here, it's about what's going to happen." "I am absolutely, 100% convinced that Matthew is in Heaven, that he is in God's arms, that he is safe, he is secure, that I will see him again someday. "Matthew's story didn't end on April 5, 2013," Warren said. "A lot of it's a blur, I just know I hit the ground and laid on the ground for hours, sobbing." "I think that's what I remember so clearly," she recalled. Still, the Warrens, who co-founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, in 1980, held to the "knowledge that God had not left us, that we would somehow survive, and that somehow, someday, we would choose joy." ![]() The day Matthew died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound was her “worst nightmare come true," Warren said. I really didn't know, 'Is this the day he's gonna die?'" "I never knew from day to day if he was going to be alive. "So he just lived his life with serious mental illness, and his chronic suicidality began to build and build and build," Warren said. ![]() He was complicated, I think, because of that." He was both amazing and someone who was pretty tortured most of his life. "Matthew was one of the funniest guys I know," she said. "He just had this weird and wacky sense of humor and nobody could make me laugh like Matthew. At age 12, he began having suicidal thoughts. In a video posted on, Kay Warren revealed her son was diagnosed with clinical depression at age 7, and later with ADHD and panic attacks. On April 5, 2013, Matthew Warren, then 27, fatally shot himself after a long and private struggle with mental illness that was only made public after his death. I miss you so much just a little while longer! Love you forever, Buddy.” Facebook ![]() So I will linger over your rose, absorbing the colors, textures and scent, and let it be a 'seen' reminder of the unseen Reality where you live. “Whatever you’re doing, Jesus’ words reassure me it’s good. ![]() Maybe you’re taking part in the crowd of witnesses who are cheering us on - millions of brothers and sisters who are reveling in the life that is truly Life.” She continued, “Maybe you are spending one of eternity‘s endless days enjoying every rose in sight… Maybe you and Jesus are just basking in uninterrupted conversation… Maybe you’re laughing with Granddaddy, Grandpa, Grandma, or Uncle Jim. With all the faith I have, I believe that the roses that surround you are brighter, smell sweeter and are tended by their Creator.” On July 18 - what would have been Matthew’s 34th birthday - Warren shared a photo of a colorful rose along with the caption, “Happy birthday in heaven, my beloved son. Kay Warren, wife of Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren, wrote a heartbreaking letter to their late son Matthew in honor of his birthday, expressing hope that he’s among “the crowd of witnesses who are cheering us on” in Heaven. Kay Warren addresses the devastating effects of sexual assault during an appearance at Saddleback Church.
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