Trusting in God

2 Corinthians 4:7-9, "We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed." (NLT)

Tuesday, September 30th will be a day that will be remembered by our family for a long time. Our oldest grandson is a Freshman at the high school in Louisville in which an incident of gun violence took place. Thankfully no one lost their life although one of the students was wounded by another student from the school. The initial reports from the Police Department indicate that this was an isolated event rather than a gunman on a campaign bent on mass destruction. We are thankful that all of the students as well as the faculty of the school and surrounding schools were sparred any further harm. We also appreciate the quick response of the school security staff as well as the Sheriff's Department and the Louisville Police Department. Their quick, thorough, and professional response to this terrible incident led to the safety of the other students as well as the apprehension of the perpetrator of the crime. The police are often criticized over the misstep and unethical actions of a few but they are very seldom ever recognized for their professional performance on a daily basis. I do not deny that there are "bad people" in the Police Departments of our nation but this is also true in all professions. But there are also many brave men and women who place their lives on the line for the citizens of this nation on a daily basis and they deserve our respect, recognition and appreciation.

There are many things that have gone through my mind the past couple of days. There were many things that went through my mind as I paced back and forth in a local park waiting on our grandson as well as the other students and faculty to be released from the lockdown at the school. These emotions ranged from fear, frustration, aggravation, disappointment, anger, and thankfulness once we received the "all clear" word from the Police. I soon moved away from the "why" of the situation and began to look for our grandson to walk down the road into the park. I knew that when I saw him we were closer to leaving for home so that he could be reunited with his family. I could write more details about the wait and about the reunion of our family as well as the wait and reunions of the other family members who were also in the park. FYI: The High School has over 1500 students. Can't you imagine the joy that was expressed in that park when the first students began to arrive?

I had previously witnessed the scene of family members waiting for news concerning their children after a shooting incident in a school. But that has always been at a distance via a television screen. I never imagined that I would be one of those family members who would be in a location listening to policeman carrying shotguns, automatic weapons and dressed in protective body armor sharing information with us concerning the incident. I never imagined that I would hear the helicopters flying overhead and seeing television cameras from all of the local stations covering this tragedy in our city. But it was happening right before my eyes and "our grandson" was in the school and he was located on the same floor where the attack took place. The events that were unfolding before my eyes on Tuesday never crossed my mind when I was praying that morning. I can tell you what did cross my mind Tuesday morning. I was reminded of the greatness of God. I was reminded of the fact that ALL of us need God more than ever before. I was reminded that we live in a world of sin, rebellion and disobedience but that God's Grace is greater than all of the challenges we face. 

I will spare you the full content of my prayer time.  I felt inspired to share with our church a list of five (5) things to pray about concerning our children/students as they began their new school year. This Prayer List has been in our bulletin each week since the middle of August. Number 5 on that list is: "Pray for safety on the school properties." I AM THANKFUL THAT I PRAYED ON TUESDAY. I AM THANKFUL THAT I PRAYED THIS MORNING. 

HAVE YOU PRAYED TODAY?