Wow it's been a while since I've posted. But anyway. I don't know how many people have heard yet but today there was another brutal school shooting in Lancaster. Three plus people have been killed plus the gunman. This was especially brutal not only because it was done "execution style" with the girls lined up against the wall with their feet tied together, but because it was deliberatly done to an Amish school. The Amish don't have phones -- they couldn't call the police. The Amish don't live in large communities -- they are loners. The Amish don't have cars -- they can't even drive somewhere to get help. In addition to that it was young girls that were targeted!! WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?! WHY ARE YOUNG INNOCENT YOUNG GIRLS SHOT THROUGHT THE HEAD?! WHY CAN'T THIS BE STOPPED?!
No, I don't have the answer. I can't give you a definite answer to why some of my dads friends had their daughters killed. All I can do is to play my part in this gigantic, mixed up, and perverted world. But what is my part? Should I go up to Lancaster Co. and try to comfort these people? It's not that far of a drive. Should I write a letter? That would be easy enough. Or should I send money for the victims families? I could certainly give some money. While these are certainly possibilities, they seem to be more geared for people who are a little closer to these families. My dad knows some of the parents but I don't.
But why should I limit myself to these Amish people? They may be the only people directly affected. But I would like to show you a few things that I found online today. They came from MSNBC. If you want to read the whole article here is the link http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15109669/ it is an interesting article but I will just give you a few lines:
"This is really sick and it has to be stopped. We as parents send our kids to school every day thinking they are going to be safe and that they are going to learn and instead they are being tortured and killed. This totally breaks my heart, I have two small children, and it scares me to death to put them on the bus in the mornings and send them off to school. I don't feel safe at all!"
"We are ready to move back to Europe! After living in Germany for four years, my kids were terrified to return to school in the states because of all the school shootings and sniper rampages we read about in the international news."
"The thing that worries me the most is that no matter how much security or how little security there is at a school it still can happen anywhere."
"What worries me the most is that absolutely nothing can be done to stop this sort of event. If there had been a guard at the school he/she would have been shot first. If there were a gate it would have been broken down."
"No, I certainly don't feel safe at school. I'm a teacher, and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to walk into the classroom and function in a normal manner. Teachers fear reprimanding their students — wondering if this one might come back with a gun because we told him to sit down and be quiet, or to stop yelling in the halls!"
"I am a parent of three children and it scares me to death! I drop them off everyday like normal, just as the parents of the children that are now dead or injured did. None of us are immune to these types of tragedies, it can happen at a restaurant, a ball game, anywhere."
And please read this next one . . .
"I'm really scared to go to school now. I feel like any minute I'm going to be shot. I'm a girl so I feel that if I do experience a school shooting I will be one of the top victims. I have trouble sleeping sometimes and get all cold and shaky inside. I told someone but they just said that nothing like that will ever happen in my school. Should I believe them? I'm so scared!"
FEAR. Fear has taken hold over these people. These are just a few of many comments. Who knows how many other people in this country have similar feelings. I'm sure there are quite a few. But a fear of what? A gunman? A lone gunman? No, I think it runs deeper than that. If you go back through the comments it is there, it's just a little deeper than the surface. It's a fear that it could be "me" next. They're afraid it's going to happen to them! They're not mad because someone killed some little girls. They're afraid it could happen to them! Why? Do you have any idea? I do. This world is all there is to most people. I think that this is especially true for Americans. But this life is all the majority of people have. The VAST majority. These people don't have that inner hope that I do as a Christian. I know EXACTLY what is going to happen to me if when I die. I know EXACTLY where I'm going to spend eternity. But so many people don't want to die.
And do they just not want to get out of this gigantic rat-race. I think it goes much deeper than that. These people don't want to meet their Maker. They want to be in control of their lives. They want to be in controls of mad raving gunmen. They want to be in control the guns on the street. They want to be in control of terrorism. They want to be in control of road rage. Control. What an interesting word. Honestly though, who is in control? It's a rather easy question for a Christian. But seriously though God, Jesus Christ - the man who walked this very earth some two thousand years ago, is in control. He is a perfect God and He has promised that if I simply love Him, He will take perfect care of me. Romans 8:28. I am called to a purpose. As this verse say it will work out "for the good." Is my way 'more good' than God's way? Who would actually think that? Well, I certainly do at times. Do you remember how I started this article "WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?! WHY ARE YOUNG INNOCENT YOUNG GIRLS SHOT THROUGHT THE HEAD?! WHY CAN'T THIS BE STOPPED?!" I would have loved to prevent this whole incident. But that is what I wanted. God's will is perfect and so is His plan. Why am I so proud that I think it would have be better if this hadn't happened?
It seems crazy to simply say that 'I know better than God.' But it is completely natural for someone to say "I wish I could have stopped that" or "That shouldn't have happened to innocent little girls." But isn't it the same thing? God knows best. That doesn't mean that if we are put in that kind of a situation that we shouldn't try to stop it. Or that we shouldn't lay our lives down for someone in danger because it "must be God's will." But when something bad happens we need to remember that God has a purpose for it. That purpose will be different for each and every one of us. God may use this to convice a principle somewhere to put a better security system in his school. Or maybe God wanted me to write this little blurb. (okay it is kinda long) But I can't tell you what your part in this giant dance is. That is between you and God. Maybe God wants you to pray for these Amish people. Maybe God wants you to make your school safer. Maybe He wants you to pull you kids out of public school and homeschool them. Maybe He just wants you to pray more for this country. Maybe He just wants you to move closer to Him. Hmm, there's a thought. I'll bet that could apply to pretty much everyone. Is there anybody God wouldn't love to have them move closer to Him? Not likely. I certainly have moved closer to God after hearing about this. I know what is going to happen to me should I ever be placed in a situation like those girls. I will soon be standing in front of my God and my Saviour, not being able to speak and my only thought being Alleluia - Praise God. That thought just makes me glad that I can walk with Him daily and I am so glad that I have that peace in my life!
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6 comments:
Hey Jayson,
I know you are right about God letting all of this happen for a purpose. Sometime though, it would be nice to know what that purpose is. But than again, He is God and we are not. Even if He always explained what His purposes were to us, I doubt that we could understand them with our finite minds. Guess this is a good reminder to us that this life is not forever. We aren’t promised another day, or moment; we need to remember that so we make sure we’re living for our Savior, to the best of our ability, through the Spirit's strength. And in the meantime, remember to lift up those who are suffering, either personally or because of something happening to a loved one. Oh, and as a side note...thank God for home schooling! If God is good enough to bless me with children one day, they will NEVER see the inside of a school room. Not that something couldn't happen somewhere else, but why take chances you don't have to?! Thanks for what you posted.
Thx for the comment! And you're absolutly right about not being able to understand God's plan. Look at the disciples, God's chosen 12, the elite. How many times did they have to ask Jesus to interpret a parable for them? How come they never figured out that Jesus had to die? It was spelled out in scripture and He told them numerous times.
Also, about if it ever happens to us. Yeah, sometime we may be have to face a similar situation. We may be in the World Trade Center on some fatal day. But then again, we may not. One thing that is going to happen is . . . the Rapture. God has promised that is going to come. That is going to be a whole lot more traumatic than anything that this world has ever seen. Maybe I won't live to see it, but it is coming!
You are so right.
God does know best, and he sees everything from an eternal standpoint. We can only see the here and now. Even though it is hard, we have to trust him, no matter what, that he knows what He is doing. There is a verse, I don't remember where but is says something to the effect of: "who can stay the Lord's hand, and who can ask Him, what are You doing?"
It is really difficult for me to read the articles, because I have two sister, who are the ages of some of the victims. It makes my heart bleed to think of them in such a situation. I love my sisters, and would gladly die for them, but you just can't protect them all the time.
It is a mega trust issue that God has been working through with me. As soon as I think I have this thing licked, and I am trusting, then he says, what about when this happens, and I find myself back at square one, and asking WHY?
He replies ever so gently, "My dear child, I love you dearly, and I would never hurt you if it would not do you good. TRUST ME."
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understandings.
"In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths."
Remember, in the parade of life, you are seated on the front bleachers, and cannot see every move made on the route. But God is up on top of the building, and he can see everything. Nothing takes him by surprise.
A great book about similar circumstance is “Marked for Life; Choosing Hope and Discovering Purpose After Earth Shattering Tragedy”. The book is by Crystal Woodman Miller. She was one of the students under the library table in Columbine.
She tells the story of Columbine and about getting past the pain. If you ever get the chance to hear her speak, go for it. Her testimony is amazing.
Her web site is, www.crystalmiller.org
Sounds like a good book. I'll have to look for it.
Hey Jayson, we talked a little about this yesterday, but I'd forgotten your dad knew some in the Amish community. That hits home. It's a horrible tragedy, but I can thank the Lord that he didn't get to perform the atrocities he had planned for those poor girls, and I can trust that they are with Him now.
I was encouraged to see the faith and values of the Amish stand firm in the midst of such a horrific event, not pointing fingers, suing the man's family, or spewing hate out of hurt. Instead, they pronounced forgiveness for the killer, and even held a memorial for him, for the benefit of the family he left behind. Rumor I heard, and I haven't confirmed, is that when he called his wife from the Amish school, she was in Bible study. His wife and kids must live with the stigma the rest of their lives, with no husband or father; I am thankful the Amish recognized that they, too, are victims.
Do not forget that this was the third in a week's time. First, a 16-yr old girl was killed in Colorado, in a similar instance when a man walked into a high school and held several girls hostage.
And then in Wisconsin, a boy walked into his school and killed his principal.
Where is the sense? People are consumed by hate and fear because they are consumed by self. We may never kill innocent people, or even break the law, but if we choose our own selves before the Lord, we are just as guilty before Him. There are no 'special places reserved in hell for killers, etc.', because hell is eternal separation from God. It is ultimate and it is complete. And it is by our own choice.
luke
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