Faith, Grief and Men’s Mental Health with Kristen, Nathan and Jason Harrison
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ALTON - On a recent episode of “You’re Beautiful” with Brian Trust, Kristen and her brother Nathan spoke about trusting God in the wake of Kristen’s son’s unexpected passing.
Kristen’s son, Gavin, took his life in August 2024. She shared that since then, she has relied heavily on Proverbs 2:5 — “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” — to comfort her through her grief.
“It’s a reminder that I’m not supposed to carry this burden alone,” she said. “I don’t have all the answers. I’m not supposed to have all the answers, because I’m not the Heavenly Father. He's the one who knows everything. Even though we try to put the pieces together and make sense, my belief is, we’re still not going to get it right.”
Kristen said Gavin was “a kind, caring, gentle soul.” He made the decision to get baptized at age 15, and she was incredibly proud of the young man he became. But she said “the enemy” seemed to hit him again and again after his baptism.
After his passing, she reached out to his friends and asked if there had been any indicators that he was struggling. His friends all agreed that they had no idea.
Gavin never spoke about his challenges. Kristen said that while he had his faith, the world and social media were feeding him negativity. She believes men feel additional pressure to hide their emotions, which contributed to Gavin’s death.
“There’s this lie the world tells us, that as men, you have to have it all together. You can’t show vulnerability. You can’t show that you’re upset,” she explained. “As a little boy, he was very funny, he was very goofy, he was very silly. But something shifted in him where he didn't think that he could be that way anymore. That part of childhood and that innocence, he thought he had to have it all together. And we know that’s not true. We know that that’s a lie. But that’s how he felt.”
Nathan echoed Kristen, pointing out that people need to rely on each other. Many people try to handle their struggles on their own, but they can trust in God and share their burdens with other people.
“In reality, we’re not in this alone,” he said. “If we try to do it alone, we will fail. It is just a matter of fact. As a species, we are not engineered to be alone. So the sooner that we understand that and lean into it more and accept it more, the farther down the road we’re going to be and the better the path is going to be clear for us.”
Since Gavin’s passing, this understanding has been especially important to Kristen. She has been touched by the countless people who have reached out to her and her family, many of whom have helped in ways they never could have predicted.
For example, Gavin used to make dinner for the family on Sunday nights. That first Sunday after he died, Kristen’s friend texted and said she planned to bring over dinner for the next several Sundays. This gesture was a reminder to Kristen that God was there for her.
She encourages more people to go above and beyond for each other. She noted that you never know what someone is going through, and sometimes simply reaching out can go a really long way.
“People have stepped into the gap for us at different times, and some of them are believers, some are not, but they’ve been obedient to step in,” she shared. “They’ve felt that nudge. I just encourage people, when you feel that nudge, like, ‘Maybe I’ll call that person,’ or, ‘Maybe I’ll do whatever,’ do it, because you have no idea the prayer that that person has prayed or the heaviness that’s on their heart.”
Watch or listen to “You’re Beautiful” at 2 p.m. on Thursdays at RiverBender.com/Beautiful.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
