Heart Broken and Angry

As I sit today still reeling after the devastating news that has come out this week; starting with the murder of Christina Grimmie, followed by the massacre at Pulse nightclub and only days later the unfortunate death of a toddler at the happiest place on earth.  What an emotional week.

I do not have any personal connection with any of the parties involved in any of these tragedies, except for the fact that we are all people. We are sons or daughters… we are husbands or wives… we are parents… cousins… friends… we are PEOPLE. People who will be mourned, and SHOULD be mourned.  The fact that they will be missed does not hinge on career choices, skin color or sexual orientation… they are PEOPLE that touched the life of someone else. And for that fact alone, their lives meant something.

None of them were perfect, because NONE of us ever are. We have bad days. We have good days. Somedays we smile simply because we are alive. Somedays we cry because the weight of the world is just too much. We make great choices and sometimes we choose badly. We do things we regret but hopefully we continue to learn from those mistakes. We grow. We change. We LIVE. And because of all those days, our lives mean something. And when we die, which we all will, we deserve the right to be remembered for the PERSON that we were. Our loved ones deserve to mourn us in peace, in their own way.

The fact that the Westboro Church has chosen to protest these funerals disgusts me beyond words! They claim that their Christian faith demands that they speak out against sin. And that is where my disagreements with them STARTS (there are so many, many disagreements… far too many to list).  The fact that you have taken it upon themselves to judge others, then they are NOT Christians! My God proclaims LOVE as the most important thing in life. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

He demands that I follow His teachings in order to call myself a disciple of Jesus. He does NOT demand perfection, which is good because there is ‘not one without sin’. He does NOT allow me to put myself above others, ‘Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.’ He does NOT demand that I judge others, quite the contrary ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.’

So, with those things in mind, I express my most sincere, heartfelt sympathies.  Your families have experienced horrific tragedies that are beyond imagination.  Please know that there are so many of us across the country and around the world who are lifting you in prayer. We hope that in some small way you can experience God’s peace during these darkest moments. Our hearts break with yours. I know that this is of little consolation, but know that we are here and that our love for you transcends the hate of this world.