School Shootings

Like many of you I've been greatly saddened by the recent shootings.  The ones in the mall in my own back yard so to speak, has really brought this home.  And then those shootings in Connecticut!  I have mourned with those parents and teachers, wondering how anyone could target such young children!

It's easy to feel that the time in which we are living is "going to hell in a hand basket", and there are certainly events out there to lend credence to that idea.  And yet, while this Holiday Season reminds us of Glad Tidings, there were some horrors associated with the story of that first Christmas, too.  For me, this shooting in Connecticut brings home the horror that occurred in Bethlehem so many years ago when so many babies two and under were murdered. I've heard the story so many times that it's easy to gloss over it and focus on the part of the story where Jesus was saved from this terror in his infancy.  It's a wonderful miracle story - just like there are wonderful miracle stories associated with these recent shootings.  That doesn't negate the pain, horror, and loss that some have had to go through, and my heart aches for them.  And those events in Bethlehem were certainly every bit as horrific to people living in those days as the shooting in Connecticut is to us.

Unfortunately murder is nothing new.  But neither is HOPE.  While HOPE doesn't take away our pain, it DOES remind us to look to the one who knows what it is like to have His Son murdered, and who willingly endured that pain to ensure our freedom and our healing.  There are many things about that story that I don't understand, but the most important question for me right now is this: Do I appreciate such a sacrifice?  Do I make active use of that gift given to me at such great price? How can I take a gift like that for granted?  God's gift promises freedom, yet how often am I content to remain bound? As Romans 6:1,2 says, "What shall we say to all this? Are we to remain in sin in order that God's grace (favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow?  Certainly not!"  And Hebrews 12:4 reminds me, "You have not yet struggled and fought agonizingly against sin, nor have you yet resisted and withstood to the point of pouring out your own blood."  Why am I so complacent? Too often, its as though I've been drugged and can't seem to wake up to the seriousness of my situation and grasp the way of escape I've been given.

What is it that has me in its grasp today? What do I want and need to be freed from?  I have been given that very costly gift of freedom if I will but accept it!  In times past, I've needed freedom from depression, from debt, from worry - and I've received that to a large degree. Thank you, God! These are tangible proofs of your power in my life and I am so grateful!

Today, I seek freedom from poor food choices. It strikes me that many people are in this same boat. We know the statistics around weight loss spending to be very high. And here God offers freedom - no money down - EVER!  No matter what I feel enslaved to, Isaiah 58: 6-11 is my prescription - complete with a promise of speedy healing.

Father, may I be filled with compassion and the willingness to act on it - not only during the holiday season, but all year through.  May I be an open channel of your love is my prayer.  And please grant me freedom from my enslavement to appetite. I've seen how choosing to place food ahead of your will for me - to worship food instead of you - has dulled my spiritual senses and increased my selfish and self-seeking tendencies. And I ask for YOUR power and strength and a knowledge of and acceptance of YOUR will that I may make better choices in the future.  Thank you, God!