GRIEF REVISITED
We are stunned. We can’t believe it has happened again… another senseless school shooting. This one, in Uvalde, TX, has taken the lives of 19 children and 2 adults. We shake our heads and think, “Have we not learned from the previous school shootings how to prevent another one from happening?” Families send their children to school each day, thinking their children will return home each day. But 19 of them will never return home again. They are no longer alive, and their families are grieving for the loss that no parent wants to experience – the loss of their child. The families of the teachers are grieving, too. The husband of one of the teachers who died suffered a fatal heart attack Thursday, leaving behind 4 children...4 orphans. Losing both parents in less than 48 hours. The pain just keeps growing. It is overwhelmingly heartbreaking.
It's been nearly two years since we posted our original article concerning grief, during the riots after George Floyd’s death. Has anything changed much since then? Only God knows the complete answer to that question. Only He knows what is in peoples’ hearts. However, if we look at what’s happening around us, we still see so much of the same – lawlessness, laziness, lack of responsibility, and lack of leadership, plus much more. God showed us then that the only way that our country will be able to prevent such things from happening again is by taking spiritual responsibility for it. We can keep schools’ doors locked and place armed guards around them. But unless there is a change in the hearts of the people of this country, these heinous acts will still continue.
Many people began posting on social media their thoughts concerning this shooting. One used an expletive aimed at people who say we need to pray in these circumstances. Whether anyone agrees with it or not, prayer is the only answer. Our country has told God that He is not welcome in our schools, our government, our marketplaces, our offices, our sporting events, and nearly everywhere else. Then people ask, “How can God let something like this happen?” The answer is, “He’s not welcomed to do anything about it.” God does not force His will on anyone. He is waiting to do what we choose to ask Him to do, according to His will. But He won’t do something for us when we’ve told Him that we don’t want Him around.
Yes, we need to pray. Pray that God will give peace to and comfort those who have lost loved ones in this tragedy. Pray that those who have the love of God in their hearts will reach out and offer to help in any way they can. Pray that the people of this country will recognize their need for God. Pray that the leaders of this country will seek God’s wisdom as they serve the people who trust them to do what is best for this country. Pray that they will cease speaking the divisiveness that they so often speak. Pray that The Church (those who believe in the one true living God, Yahweh, and His Son Jesus, Messiah Yeshua) will recognize their responsibility to stand against the enemy who is trying to destroy this country. Pray that God will have mercy on this country and not visit us with the wrath that we deserve. Pray that the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:7).