"Did you hug your children this morning? Did you tell them you loved them, as they walked out the door, on the way to the school bus?" I can imagine the thoughts running through the parents minds of those children in Santana High School in Santee, California today. We never know what may happen to our children, when they leave our homes. But, I am sure not one parent there today would have ever thought that their child might not make it back home for dinner tonight. That's inconceivable in our minds, or we'd never let the children out of our sight.

We feel we've done our best for our children. We give them the best we can, send them to the neighborhood schools, which are supposed to be safe. We teach them to love one another, to be kind, not to fight, be forgiving, and compassionate. But, then, something like Columbine or Santana happens - a child or children go beserk, for no apparent reason. A misguided youth feels he needs to take another life, rather than talking it out with someone that may be able to help him see through the hurt he has in his heart. There has to be a reason; things like this just do not happen suddenly, without forethought.

Our hearts go out to the families of the victims of this tragic act. But, we also pray for the family of the assailant. We have to remember this boy is a youngster, in the prime of his life, and the adversary has locked his mind into these circumstances. He struck out in a cold way toward his peers, unexpectedly. Oh, they were warned, but he wasn't taken seriously. The adversary knows how to make 'blackness look like light'; he's an expert! So, in his teenage way, he fooled those even close to him, into thinking it was a joke - he'd never do a thing like that.

While Santee mourns it's loss, we, as a whole, need to pray for our youth. They are being bombarded with things with which they have a hard time dealing. But, prayer can change things, circumstances. Parents should reach out to their teenagers, loving them, while instructing them in constructive behavior, or the consequences of misdeeds.

God's Thoughts:

Psalms 5:11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

Psalms 121:1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

Wounded Heart!