Making Sense of Tradgedy...

Early Sunday morning I awoke to the news that a gunman had went on a shooting rampage 20 minutes from our home at a YWAM center at Faith Bible Chapel. My heart dropped as I looked at the beautiful images of the people affected by such a senseless tragedy! After church, I see a news alert pop up on T.V. screen that another shooting has taken place at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. I immediately call my family, who attend the church, to make sure they are o.k. My fear quickly turns to anger and confusion.

I'm supposed to be a person that people turn to in times like this with answers of why God allows these things to happen. I have no good answers. Yesterday, while finishing a few finals at school I had the chance to talk with a Christian psychologist about this event. He allowed me to vent my anger at the gunman without making any critiques of my own broken logic. When I came home my wife reminded me that God stepped into this mess by giving the security guard the courage to confront the gunman, and therby save a lot of lives. What a brave lady! Perhaps, God's desire to give humanity free will has its limits when it comes to hurting His kids...

I believe it is time for parents to take some responsibility for the actions of their kids. I realize that people make terrible decisions and parents can't always know what their children will choose to do. Of course wayward children are a tough challenge but I still cannot believe that this young man was simply a product of his own making. I've been around too many people to believe that. I know this won't be popular with some people but we can no longer sit idly by and hope this doesn't happen again. "David, don't judge anyone, especially the parents! You don't know the details!" True. I don't know their pain and sadness after losing a son...I just feel so helpless to change society from becoming more of a mess.

That being said, I will be a snoopy parent and know what my kids are doing on the internet, what types of friends they hang out with, what types of video games they play, what type of weapons (!?!) they hide in their rooms... I suppose it is possible that this kid suddenly snapped. Possible, but not probable, if you know anything about human development!

Hug your kids, talk to them, kiss them, let them vent, let them question, let them fail, let them skip church on occasion...but take the time to know your kids! Sadly, since many won't do this, "adopt" a hurting kid in your neighborhood, help them develop a safe relationship to express anger, fear, doubts, questions and lets work to avoid these type of tragedies...

God be with the families affected by this dark occasion...Justice in the end...