My little town is walking through a horrible tragedy. \u00a0Actually, tragedy may not be the right word because it implies that the event was accidental. \u00a0This event was horrific and intentional. \u00a0The brutal abuse and \u00a0murder of a 2 year old boy. \u00a0It really didn’t seem like it could be true, \u00a0but as I \u00a0looked into the faces of those that were first-responders on the scene \u00a0I knew that the unthinkable had come to our little community.<\/p>\n
Because Brandon seemed to have no family, \u00a0a sweet young woman organized a candle-light vigil. \u00a0I wasn’t sure how many people would show up on a very hot Tuesday night but there were no parking spaces anywhere nearby. \u00a0Families with children close to Brandon’s age walked quietly through the parking lot. \u00a0 They seemed to be holding them closer tonight. \u00a0Dozens of stuffed animals were organized neatly in the back of an ambulance in memory of \u00a0Brandon. \u00a0A banner to honor his short life was covered with messages from strangers that wish they could take him in and love him. \u00a0People like me that wish they could turn back time and show a scared little boy what it feels \u00a0like to be safe. \u00a0We all had a need to honor him and show that we cared even though it wouldn’t change a thing.<\/p>\n
I had another reason to be there. \u00a0My husband. \u00a0He’s a pastor and had the great challenge and honor of speaking at the vigil tonight. \u00a0I know his tender heart and I knew this would be hard for him so I stood in the back of the crowd praying for wisdom and strength as he stepped to the podium. \u00a0Five minutes later I was in awe, once again, of the authenticity and depth of his faith. \u00a0He candidly told everyone that he sat in front of his computer all day hoping and praying for the right words to say but that they never came. \u00a0He finally decided it might be because there are no right words for such an awful tragedy. \u00a0Pastors are expected to have all the answers, or at least think they do, but he didn’t have any. \u00a0I love that he isn’t afraid to admit that. \u00a0I also love that he wasn’t \u00a0afraid to say what he did know. \u00a0That Jesus loves children. \u00a0That He weeps with us. \u00a0That He prays for us when we have no words. \u00a0But mostly, \u00a0that we have the hope of a future where there is no pain, no tears and where children aren’t abused.<\/p>\n
He ended by reading the end of Revelations and I found myself wondering what good could come of \u00a0this terrible thing. \u00a0I looked around at hundreds of people and simply prayed for love. \u00a0The kind of love that reaches out to people around us. \u00a0The kind of love that pushes through the walls built to keep us isolated and hidden. \u00a0 The selfless and sacrificial love that Jesus modeled. \u00a0Would that kind of love help to heal and change people? \u00a0 I think so. \u00a0It happened for me. \u00a0Could it happen for the parent across town that is at the end of their rope and taking it out on their child? \u00a0Could it happen for the woman sitting across from me at work \u00a0that \u00a0has given up on life? \u00a0What about the teenager that has only known violence and drugs. \u00a0Do I believe they can change? \u00a0I do. \u00a0It’s the hope of Christianity. \u00a0 So, as I left a very sad event tonight, my prayer was that all of us \u00a0gathered in memory of Brandon would take it upon ourselves to bring the hope of heaven to earth. \u00a0That love would rise up in the face of evil and that his little life would make a change…in me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My little town is walking through a horrible tragedy. \u00a0Actually, tragedy may not be the right word because it implies that the event was accidental. \u00a0This event was horrific and intentional. \u00a0The brutal abuse and \u00a0murder of a 2 year old boy. \u00a0It really didn’t seem like it could be true, \u00a0but as I \u00a0looked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[14,61,78,182,189,305,334,380,586],"class_list":["post-27","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-just-some-thoughts","tag-abused","tag-brutal","tag-children","tag-faith","tag-family","tag-jesus","tag-little-town","tag-murder","tag-tragedy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenlawson.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenlawson.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenlawson.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlawson.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlawson.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/karenlawson.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenlawson.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlawson.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlawson.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}