A Message Within A Message

On April 20, 1999, at a suburban high school in Littleton, Colorado, two armed teenagers started their day with a plan to kill.  In less than an hour, they transformed the halls of this average American high school into a prison of terror, leaving 13 dead and at least 19 others wounded, before ending their tirade by turning their guns on themselves.  The physical damage to life and property was just a fragment of the destruction created that day. Traumatized witnesses, mourning families, frightened friends, an unnerved community, and a hurting nation were all formed at the whim of these teens hands.  As people touched by the tragedy tried to cope with their disturbing reality, they placed mementos on a grassy hill of an adjacent park.  At this site a permanent memorial of the Columbine shootings was erected 7 years later.

I visited the Columbine Memorial today.  The scenic views of Clement Park made an appropriate sanctuary for reflection.  It is clear why loved ones came to this heavenly haven during the midst of their grief and confusion.  Written on the stone faces

Familiar Faces

I do not have a PC.  I have a Mac.  This may seem like extraneous information for you.  Why do you care?  Indeed, you may not.  But my Mac and it’s unique abilities play a central role in my blog this week.

Better Late than Never?

We have all heard the expression “better late than never.”  But is it a motto we can live by?  I recently ran across this article that left me wondering:

Shizo Kanakuri disappeared while running the marathon in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. He was listed as a missing person in Sweden for 50 years — until a journalist found him living placidly in southern Japan.

Overcome with heat during the race, he had stopped at a garden party to drink orange juice, stayed for an hour, then took a train to a hotel and sailed home the next day, too ashamed to tell anyone he was leaving.

There’s a happy ending:

The Master’s Hand – A Poem

“I need to speak with You, Lord,
and offer You my life.
You can have it wholly,
the pleasure and the strife.
You gave me a notebook,
fresh, and clean, and new.
I penned some in it’s pages
now I give it back to You.
The narrative I’ve written
is just a senseless blot.
It’s rhyme without a reason:
no purpose and no plot.
So take my living story
into your Author’s hands.
And weave me a new version
that through all time will stand.”

He took the open diary
in His gentlemanly way.
And tenderly He asked me,
“Can it be whate’er I say?”

Try Your Hand

Well, I’m home today with a sick child. Fever, cough, congestion, basically all of the symptoms that have the power to disrupt the best laid plans of the Stay-At-Home Mom. I anticipate spending my day reading long forgotten children’s books and playing dust covered games to get us through the first day of Spring Break.  Although I enjoy these unexpected furloughs from the norm, where I can revel in the unmitigated overtures of my child and lavish her with special attention, the Type-A in me has a hard time letting go of the ever-present To-Do List.

Feeling Good!

My two daughters participated in Believer’s Baptism this Sunday and it was a memorable time for us all.  Part of what I’ll remember is the anticipation, the excitement, and the unexpected emotion.  However, I’ll also remember how different it was from what I expected . . . .

What Don’t You Know?

Current Affairs — a subject that breeds blissful ignorance for me.

I am generally so consumed with my own day-to-day that I’m hardly aware of the local weather report, let alone national or international concerns.  Most of my broader knowledge base is made up of what my HubbyLu discloses at the dinner table.  Right or wrong, the majority of my days are characterized by a lack of information about things that do not need sack lunches, clean clothes, carpools, or doctor visits.  My bubble, in reality, is rather small.

However, with the most recent current events, it is hard to avoid the biggest headliners (even for the most skilled of ostriches).  And there lies the flip-side of “blissful ignorance”; once the ignorance is broken, so is the bliss. 

Arbitrary Sidenote

Just want to offer a small note to any surfers out there.  The previous 2 posts were originally created on another site.  I copied them over here for continuity.  Therefore, the originating dates are not reflected accurately.  Just FYI.  :0)  Thanks for visiting.