Again and again I asked the question, “When will it ever end?” And again and again the answer is….
In Buffalo New York, the families and friends of ten people who were heartlessly shot and killed on Saturday are mourning their loss and maybe asking the same question. The shooting took place at a busy supermarket, and the shooter allegedly targeted the people because they were Black.
I have to use the word allegedly for legal reasons, but his manifesto clearly stated that he needed to kill as many black people as possible before people of color replaced all the white folks in the U.S.
What?? Really??
In my naivete, I’d never heard about the ‘replacement theory’ until I heard a news report today about the Buffalo mass shooting and the very troubled, misguided young man who decided it was his right, and duty, to go to that supermarket and shoot black people.
My mind just cannot comprehend how such hatred of people of color can go so deep and seemingly justify such a horrific action.Today, I will pray for the families in Buffalo and hope that God will bring them some comfort and peace. A morning devotional that a friend always sends to me had this short message that seems to fit the day and the circumstances. “When we begin today, remember that the God who does not change is there to offer His strength to us today. When we come to the end of our own resources, God offers us His. We have only to step out in faith and trust to be victorious over our struggles.”
No matter what God you believe in, or what higher power, those words hold true. As does this from Isaiah 41:10, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
One of my favorite church songs, “Do Not Be Afraid” by David Haas is based on that verse, and I’m sure it will play in my mind off and on all day. It has wonderful words of comfort and is well worth a listen if your heart is as heavy as mine.
Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home…
Today, I just want to be like my cats. Sit in the sun and not have such a heavy heart. I have no more words.
And how with a history like he had, it is so incredibly easy for him to purchase a gun.
Too easy for sure for him to get a gun. He had been on police radar a year ago and then released, which is why there needs to be stricter background checks.