Meaning Amidst The Violence

Today is the anniversary of one of the most shocking events of my lifetime. On this day in 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold carried out their sickening assault at Columbine High School. Last year, upon the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the massacre, President Bill Clinton said the events at that school in Colorado “changed us forever.” 

I wonder what that change has looked like for us. There are plenty of different perspectives after an event of this magnitude. Some people are closer than others, some always seem to see things more clearly, and some are perpetually clueless. Now that eleven years have passed, there’s a large segment of the population who weren’t old enough to notice the worst public school shooting in American history.

Change comes in a lot of forms. The harshest form reshaped the lives of the families of the 15 people who died, two dozen wounded, and countless others in that devastated community. Some folks used the shootings to pump up the gun control debate. A lot of people threw their hands in the air and saw no hope. Many more, especially those inspired by the character of Cassie Bernall and Rachel Scott, found light in the midst of darkness, meaning amidst the monstrous.

I think if we’re honest, a lot of us hear about these hellish tragedies and thank God that it didn’t happen to us. Then we go on with our lives hoping that nothing like that ever will.

We always want everything to make sense but sometimes life just doesn’t. So what do we do with a story like this?  How are we supposed to commemorate what took place in Littleton, Colorado? The short answer is that we live purposefully, intending to make a positive difference in the world around us everyday.

If you could, would you reach out to one of the parents whose child was slaughtered while they were at school? Most of us would. Then who is around us today, even right now maybe, and hurting? What person in your life needs a soft word of encouragement or a few minutes of your time?

What about those victims? Would you love to go back in time and tell them what was coming? I think we all wish we could go back and prevent some terrible things that have happened. Of course we can’t, but the future is coming. How much of it do you have left?  What if tomorrow is your day? What if it’s today? Are you ready? None of us want to face that reality right now, but could you if you had to? Cassie and Rachel did.

The last one is toughest of all. What about those two young guys who planned the rampage and never looked back? Why did they hate? What did they need? We’ll never have all the answers, but wouldn’t you like to go back to the point in their lives when they ran so far from the main path? I wonder if maybe they were pushed a little from that path, from the crowd. I bet they were pushed a lot.