MASSACRE, EVIL & OPINIONS

MURDER IN VIRGINIA.

   

I went to the Virginia Institute when I was fouteen years old.  I won first place in a State 4-H speaking competition.  I also won first place in a cooking competition.  The campus was huge to me.  My recipe was chicken salad.  My speech was Why I Am Proud to be An American.

Today, I still make the chicken salad.  Today, I'm still proud to be an American.  But much has changed in forty-four years.  Society is so much more violent.  Evil use to hide in back alleys and wait till dark to come out.  No more.  Evil strolls down sidewalks, into hospitals and on playgrounds in broad daylight today.  Evil walks into campuses and blows people to smitherines and destroys multiple lives and families forever.

Today we have predators sitting next to us at McDonald's and preaching to us from pulpits.  We have terrorists getting flight instructions and being educated by us to blow us up and destroy us.  Today we invite tramps and trollops into our living room and let them dance in front of our eyes on television screens.  Today we walk into restaurants, clothing stores and listen to gangsta rap yell their trash in our ears under the protection of freedom of speech.

Today we suck brains from unborn children and dump them in a waste disposal along with the fetuses whose hearts beat just moments before.  But today our most significant topic of discussion is one preacher's opinion of our doctrinal belief on whether or not God's gonna save anyone's depraved soul.  Amazing.  Truly amazing.

Pardon me, my faithful readers, if I digress from my usual words of encouragement, comfort or inspiration.  Today, I must beg you to pray for a nation gone crazy in a world bent on total destruction.  I beg you to pray for more optimism than pessimism.  More forgiveness than condemnation.  More eagerness to understand than eagerness to judge.

Gosh, I'm tired.  I really am.  Having lost my son on Mother's Day nearly two years ago, this day of death and loss brings to life the pain, agony and numbness of death to my grieving mind.  Life is so much more than this.  It really is.  It's so much more than opinions and arguements. So much more.  selahV

Comments

[Les Puryear]

Selah,

I am so sorry for the pain of your loss. Even though it was two years ago, it still sounds fresh. May God comfort you in a way that no human being can.

Kindest regards,

Les

[SelahV]

Les: thank you for your kind words. Yes, this kind of loss is quickened by multiple things. I especially experience pain and heartache when I hear of the loss of another's child in a senseless act or tragic accident. My heart begins to mourn anew and it's not really as much for myself as for the pain I know they are experiencing. It's really next to unbearable to lose a child.

If not for the comfort of the precious Father in Heaven who surrounds me with His grace and comfort through His Spirit, I would not be here typing this to you at this moment. I've learned to live with half a heart since I lost my son. It's not easy. But it's for a purpose...one I find in every moment of the day.

I truly think we spend too much time on lesser things when our focus should rest in His hands and allowing Him to squeeze whatever goodness He can from our lives in Him to reach others.

Again, my thanks for your time and comment, Les. God's grace upon you and abound. selahV

[Rose]

Dear Selah,

May we all take your wise words to heart. Life IS so much more than arguments and opinions.

I know you understand the grief of the parents who lost children in the Virginia tragedy much more than any of us who haven't lost a child ever could. I would venture to say whether a parent's loss was 2 yrs. or 10 yrs. ago, a tragedy like this would bring it all back like it was yesterday.

God bless you, SelahV. Your writings have made a difference in how I see life, my family, my friends, and my Christian brothers and sisters. So much of what we disagree about is petty. We need to keep our minds on higher things.

Love to you,
Rose

[SelahV]

ROSE: Thanks so very much for your words of grace to me. You got exactly the point of my post here. Since I lost my son I've been led to complete strangers to undergird through tragedies of losing their adult child. It's the most heartrending thing I've done. It's almost as if I pray to receive their pain in part because I know they will survive. Life has changed forever for them. Nothing will ever be the same again. Not a family gathering, a holiday, a sunrise or sunset. I pray God gives them the peace He alone can give. But more, I pray they see the gifts of His grace with keen awareness of His presence in days ahead. God has been so good to me. He's given me so much in these 23 1/2 months. I pray I can give some of it back in some way to others. I'm so glad I've been some small measure of blessing to you, dear Rose. Your support and kindness since we met when I began blogging has indeed been one of the blessings of God. selahV

[Kat]

Dear Selah,
I cannot imagine the loss of a child under any circumstances, let alone those of senseless violence. Your own experience has truly given you the sensitivity to reach out to others who are hurting...and it has also given you the ability to see what are truly the important issues of life and death. God has given you a unique ministry. We all need those reminders.
Kat

[SelahV]

KAT: Thank you. It's not an enlightenment I recommend for anyone. And with the several mothers I've found myself hugging, they all agree, it's a club we don't want anyone else to have to join. selahV