I really can’t believe you’re gone. I was certain that it was another Facebook hoax and that you were alive and planning that long-awaited sequel to Mrs. Doubtfire. 

Sadly, it was true. You fought demons that none of us knew about. Some might say you took the cowardly way out, but I don’t think so. I think sometimes those demons are too much for one person to face alone.

You taught me to seize the day. You reminded me that life can be sublimely ridiculous and gloriously insane at times. You entertained me from the days of Mork and Mindy all the way to your latest attempt at TV sitcom. You weren’t just funny. You were brilliant.

Little did any of us know the darkness you faced. You chose to fight alone, either from shame or pride or simply being unaware that you didn’t have to be alone.

I don’t for one moment think that suicide disqualifies anyone from the grace of God. I don’t believe for a solitary second that taking your own life is a sin that sends you straight to hell. Ruth Bell Graham once said that when a child of God takes their own life, God may not have called them home but He welcomes them home all the same.

I don’t know if you knew Jesus. Maybe if someone had told you, you might have chosen a different way out. Then again, believers are just as prone to depression and suicidal thoughts. Believers sometimes choose what they perceive to be the easy way out.

I hope and pray you found peace at least. I pray for all those who feel alone in their struggle that they will find someone to come alongside them and walk with them. 

This is Orson calling Mork. Nanu, nanu. Welcome home.