When Tragedy Hits

This is simply another response to the Arapahoe shooting that happened recently... I've been thinking a lot about it this past weekend and at church this morning the youth pastor basically just answered questions from the students about the whole issue. I thought it provided a really nice perspective. There are just a few things that I want to say:

First, it's horrible. I'm so tired of all these things happening. Seriously. The theater shooting was terrible, and very alarming since I live fairly close to the theater. And then the Sandy Hook shooting made me think since I lead a group of first graders in my AWANA group. And now there's this, my school is like two miles away from Arapahoe. I was at school when it happened and it was kind of scary because no one really told us what was going on, but my principle was going around and making sure the doors were locked. Eventually word got around of what happened. And the whole school was in this eerie silence for the rest of the day.
Honestly, my first thought was "Not again."  Not ANOTHER shooting. Not ANOTHER tragedy. My mom texted me to let me know that my cousin wasn't hurt. Well, I didn't even know that she went to that school. So I was simultaneously glad she was okay and then terrified that there was a chance she could have gotten hurt. Then I got home and saw that my other cousin went there too. And it was just... terrible....

That being said, these past few days have really made me think hard about life. It's scary to think that we aren't guaranteed life. There is no reason why I should expect to make it to tomorrow. I remember after the theater shooting I didn't want to go anywhere, because what if I got shot?
And to that I say- don't live in fear. If you just stay in your home for the rest of your life, well- you might as well be dead, right?
At youth group this one kid asked "How can I feel safe if anyone can come in and shoot me?" I thought it was a reasonable question. One that all of us struggle with when this happens. As a Christian, I think, we can answer that question better than most.
This life is not all there is. Death is tragic. It's horrible. But really, this isn't our home. Life on this earth is fragile. What happens when it ends? As a Christian, I know for certain that if someone were to come in and shoot me right at this instant, I would go to heaven, which is incredibly better than anything that I could have right now.
Now, I don't want to turn this into a preachy gospel thing, but it needs to be said. In light of this tragedy, I have hope. I have joy that some may say is unreasonable. I trust that God holds my life in his hands and cares about me. I honestly, don't understand how someone who doesn't believe in God can function. Even if I am fooling myself. Even if religion is made up by some lunatics, would you not rather have hope than trying to live a "good" life while you still have it and then- what? Die and cease to exist? I don't know....
So, even though all this happened, I will not live in fear. A life lived in fear is not worth living.

One thing that I have been taught every year at Summer camp and was reminded of today- what's your anchor? Have you ever been repelling? Like, legit repelling down a cliff? Well, there are these things called anchors that you use. At Id-Ra-Ha-Je (the camp) they are screwed into the rock, and then the bolts expand into the rock. Basically it would be very, very difficult to pull them out. Pretty much impossible. That is what you hook into to go and walk down a cliff. The hardest thing to do is trust. You need to trust the rope, the anchor, the equipment, and the counselors who are trained to do this stuff. It was seriously one of the most terrifying things that I've ever done. But I didn't have it as bad as my other friend who got her hair stuck in the rope. When that happens, your weight is taken off of the main rope and put on the backup rope which is in the hands of the person at the top. I remember my friend freaking out because she was just hanging there trying to get her hair out of the thing.
The point of that long winded story is, when things go wrong, who do you put your trust in? If my friend had continued freaking out and pulling on the rope instead of trust the counselors and the equipment, she never would have gotten out. Instead, she probably would have gotten herself into more trouble and pain. So when struggles come, are you going to trust yourself? Or your friends? Or whatever else you think will help you and make you succeed. If you do that, you'll only disappoint yourself.
God, however, will never fail. If you trust him, he will get you through anything. Hard times will still happen, but dealing with them becomes immensely easier when you have the one thing that you know for a fact is true. One of my teachers who is also my principle always tells us that whenever stuff like this happens, go back to Jesus. Go back to what you know is true and rest in that. 

Things like this shake us. They scare us. But we can't dwell on the fear. God loves us and he give those to believe in him a life beyond this, one without school shootings, and cancer, and abuse. Once you have that, no one can harm you. Well, sure, they can kill you. But none of that matters when you have Jesus!!! 

I pray for all the students and their families. Especially the families of Claire and Karl. I pray that the community will surround them and help them, but I also pray that God will use this horrible effect of sin and turn it into something good. And I ask you to do the same. I also pray that the community will be able to forgive the shooter for what he did. Not excuse it, but forgive.


I leave you with a verse from Psalm 27:1 
"The LORD is my life and my salvation-
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life-
Of whom I be afraid?

- Amanda