Sadness

The horrific acts of a young man in Uvalde Texas have overwhelmed the nation. This young man took the lives of 21 innocent people in a "safe" school setting. His actions have caused the lives of 22 families to be forever changed and the date of May 24 to be forever feared as a day of evil. His actions have added to the ongoing debate about how to stop these senseless acts of terror and slaughter. I need to vent, so here goes.....

The debate will center around access to guns and the type of guns that are able to be purchased. I am not going to comment on that because that's a political volleyball that is not part of my DNA to figure out. I own guns. I enjoy shooting guns. I am armed when I leave my house. Access to guns should be well controlled and any political actions that bring us to a more logical access method are welcome in my mind.

But guns are not the issue.

Abel was killed by Cain with a rock. Caesar was stabbed. Many died by the sword before guns were invented. Evil intent can always be satisfied with any available weapon. Evil is very ambitious and very sneaky in its efforts to succeed. Evil will always prevail without God.

Don't get me wrong. I believe in logical gun control. Don't let every citizen have a gun if he or she is not old enough and mature enough and sane enough to handle those weapons safely. Provide education about weaponry of all kinds. Arm your citizens with knowledge and encourage people to know people and love people and report people who may be going thru hard times so they can be helped instead of encouraged to shoot someone. We all know people. We all should watch our friends and provide assistance when they're having difficulties.

I am starting to like the idea of Red Flag laws whereby law enforcement can remove weapons from the home of those who may be dangerous, but those laws must be written and followed cautiously. They are easily abused for personal gain, so there must be safeguards put in place.

And remember, criminals don't follow the law. We still need a strong police force and we still need an armed citizenry who have been trained in self-defense. I am a believer in armed, trained citizens who are able to defend family and friends from the aforementioned criminals who are always willing to take advantage of any situation.

But, this wasn't that. This was an 18 year old boy who was severely disturbed and seemingly had no other action available to him than to shoot 21 innocent people. He must have felt that this was his only way of expressing himself about whatever it was that was bothering him. He obviously was disturbed. He obviously was angry. Why didn't we notice ? Why didn't we speak up ? Why can't we do better ? Why can't we help ?

I am sad today as I know most of us are. But I have Hope !!!!

I know that Jesus is coming back. I pray that he hurries before more carnage and violence is brought on innocent people. I pray that more people will realize that Jesus is their Hope and their Salvation. I pray that I can be one of the voices that help someone to know about Him before they too do something that will result in an eternity in Hell.

Lord, help me to be a voice for You........