a piece of my heart
Senseless violence and dark injustice can make for a steady rain in life—dampening spirits in mists of gray. In the summer of 2013, a 17-year-old from a rough neighborhood jumped in front of his mother to protect her from an attack. The bullet struck and killed him, leaving his mother clutching his lifeless body in front of their home. The boy’s brother, who witnessed the crime, said later, “I lost a big piece of my heart that night.”
peace in a ravaged world
Amid the horrific stories of shootings in schools, the news in August 2013 of Antoinette Tuff’s heroism was a beautiful exception. Antoinette, on staff at an elementary school, confronted 20-year-old Michael Hill when he entered the school building carrying weapons, including an assault rifle. “I just started talking to him,” Tuff said, “and let him know what was going on with me and that it would be okay.” Remarkably, Hill laid down his weapons and surrendered. Accounts of Tuff’s courage swept across the newswires, but she resisted acclaim. “I give it all to God. I’m not the hero. I was terrified.”
love as you love yourself
Following a mass shooting in which a dozen victims were murdered, a writer lamented that the horrific event received a lack of media coverage and national attention. “What number of dead here would it have taken to give the nation pause?” Cynthia McCabe lamented in a blog post. While some people moved on quickly from reflecting on the senseless crime and those affected by it, many individuals, organizations, and churches demonstrated compassion for those affected by the tragedy. That includes my friend Heidi who—along with other members of her local church—chose to remember the victims in a tangible way.
May 27, 2014
What gives you hope as you see the violence and evil reported in the news and found in your own part of the world?
peace work
As we bumped slowly down the rain-ravaged, two-track “road,” we inched past weathered dwellings where skittish chickens dodged barefoot children. Simple fences framed gardens that sprouted low-yield corn and tomatoes. Wiry farmers prodded lumbering carabao as they tilled larger fields.
shamed and disarmed
Hospital chaplain Matt Marino received a call to go to a patient’s room. He expected to find someone gravely ill, fearful, or clinging to life. Instead, he was surprised to find a “strikingly attractive 23-year-old sitting up cheerfully in the hospital bed, holding her infant daughter and chatting with family and friends.” Confused, Matt quietly asked the nurse why he had been called.
saving little ones
Jenny” grew up in a home where both parents engaged in extramarital affairs and were prone to violence. In this setting, Jenny soon became emotionally and physically neglected—and vulnerable to others.
what God looks like
In March of 2012, Americans listened with regret and repulsion as we heard reports of an American soldier in Afghanistan who went on a killing spree in a rural Afghan village. This rogue soldier massacred 16 civilian Afghanis. This is an absolute horror. The aftermath compounds our grief because these evil actions (and several other travesties) will, for some, define American ideals to our Afghani neighbors. Because of the actions of one violent man, many will believe that Americans are filled with hatred and are to be feared. Who can blame them? When someone acts in our name or on our behalf, we’re represented by their actions.
good men
The opening line of the 1984 song “Holding Out for a Hero” asks, “Where have all the good men gone?” That’s a fair question in a world that has seen more than its share of passive or violent males.
was i there?
I’ve never experienced what it means to be opposed or persecuted for my religious beliefs. Without a doubt, I’m thankful that I live in a country where there’s both freedom and safety to practice my faith. Yet, in more than 50 countries around the world, no less than 200 million Christians are vigorously opposed and ruthlessly persecuted. Many thousands have died horrible deaths, simply because they loved Jesus.
family quarrels
Genesis 4:6-8: “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” One day…
the effects
This was a tough week. Someone I know was accused of a crime so brutal I can’t describe it. Waves of disbelief, disgust, and sadness have swept over me. I grieve the loss of life for the victim and what he went through prior to his death. I grieve for the families involved. I grieve the potential loss of a…
fighting the good fight
Jacqueline’s eyes flash fury and fire. She’s the embodiment of the hot-tempered, angry, fight starter described in Proverbs 15:18, 29:22. It’s not surprising then that rather than pleading with her landlord for more time to pay her delinquent rent, she beat him up and gave him two broken ribs.
The landlord was not the first person to suffer Jacqueline’s wrath.…
fear at Christmas
A glance through the headlines sets off a warning siren in our collective soul. One country, reeling from years of civil war, reports more than 2,000 civilians killed in 2 months. No tribe, no nation, no people-group is free from the threat of violence.
It’s a tired tune we’ve heard down through the ages. More than 700 years before Christ,…
