July 13, 2024 was a terrible day. Such a terrible day for our country. Such a terrible day for the families that lost loved ones. Some of you might not agree, but that includes it was a terrible day for the family of the shooter. What followed on Facebook was all over the place. And that just shows exactly why something like this can actually happened. The divide. The division. The hate. All of the back-and-forth that people type…justifies everything we’re talking about. People type it, so it must be fine. People read it, so it must be fine. And then somebody that is unstable reacts.
I have been guilty of typing things that I shouldn’t have. And I have really tried the last few years to not do that. Often times, I will poke fun at Barbara and myself. And she knows it. She pokes back. As I said, it’s all in fun for us. But I do remember commenting on something that I wasn’t fully aware of what actually happened. Basically, it was a photo of a father and his daughter at a bike race. One of the cyclists lost control and the father was holding his daughter up. And I made the joke about him using her as a shield. Although I’m certain he wasn’t. And I meant for it to be funny. My sister-in-law informed me that the video of the incident was terrible. And that hit home with me. I’m so glad she brought it to my attention.
The point we’re making here is that we never know what someone’s going through. We never know what it is that they are facing. We don’t know their struggles. We don’t know their successes. Unless…we know. But God knows. We might not. But he does. I doubt any of us know what was going through the mind of that 20 year old when he pulled the trigger. What would drive him to do such a thing? We have no idea. And instead of taking sides, I’d like to see us try to come together and lift up those that are personally impacted in situation’s like that. Let’s try to put aside our political differences. Especially when it comes to putting out memes that are so completely inappropriate. I know that I can be better about lifting people up. I can be better about praying for people. And I promise that I will. Today let’s all do that. Let’s work to be better at lifting others up.
