10 years and a chance to talk.

I was killing time last week in a Barnes and Nobles when I grabbed a couple of books. One was entitled "The Furious Longing of God" and the other "Columbine".

I started on the Columbine book first because immediate memories stuck out in my mind. I remember sitting on my couch and watching CNN as a kid was being pulled out of a second floor window. He was bloody and fell out of the window as workers tried to grab him. It's a sight that I'll never forget. I was a junior in high school.

Before that day, school was safe. When you went to school you didn't really have to worry about life or death. Sure there were fights but they were limited and not usually near me. My parents could rest knowing that I was somewhere safe.

That all changed on April 20th, 1999. It was unnerving to know that two young men with guns could walk into almost any school and start shooting people at random. They shot people in the lunch room. They shot people in the library. They shot people outside. They did not care who it was. They tried to kill them. Ultimately they turned their guns on themselves took their own lives. Their hope was to be remembered forever and after ten years that has been successful.

As a student I begin to look at life in a new light after that day. I would look at my school and try to figure out what I would do in that situation. In a sense a good portion of innocence was lost that day. The same happened with the D.C. Sniper and 9/11. We've gotten to a point where we live in a state of wondering what's next. When is the next killing? When is the next school shooting? When is the next bad thing???

This brings me to the second book I looked at. "The Furious Longing of God" by Brennan Manning. I didn't get far into the book but I skimmed to get the point. God longs for us to be in relationship with Him. The creator and perfecter of our lives wants to be close to us. I was struck by the similarities and differences in the two books. Both talked about people who were broken and lost. Both books talked of people who were unsatisfied with the world and looked for a way to deal with it. The difference is that one book talks about the hope of God. It explains that when we feel broken, helpless, and lost, God is there LONGING to be with us.

There is a fix to brokenness. There is a fix to hurt. There is a fix to hopelessness.

It's God. And he has a furious longing to know you.

Today would be a great chance to talk to your kids about this.

Take Care,
Jon