I was in rehab yesterday, stretching out my knee on the stationary bike, when my wife sent me a text message: "hs is in lockdown."
I stared at the message for a few moments, trying to realize what I was reading. Our high school is on lock down???
I started praying.
I text-ed my wife to ask which one: Blue Valley or Blue Valley West? She replied it was Blue Valley High.
Then a lady at rehab mentioned that her daughter was locked down in the high school. She had been texting her mom, and was wondering how long it would take for the "all clear."
I also heard a long line of understandably concerned parents had driven to the high school and were lining the streets waiting for access to their children and/or news.
I prayed…for the kids…for the teachers…for the law
enforcement personnel…for the young person(s) who made the threat…for that young person’s parent(s).
You can read how the story progressed here and here in the media (and see The KC Star’s article on the general topic two weeks ago). The story brought a couple thoughts to mind:
- People all around our community are hurting and need Christ. You realize
this when you go beyond the veneer of large, new homes & manicured
lawns. In fact, the Bible says affluence can make you forget your huge need for God. - We need to continually pray for our community: for officials, parents, children, and for peace. As I read one time, "our prayers can move the hand that moves the universe." God often chooses to wait for us to pray so we realize our need for Him.
So, what were/are your thoughts?
It makes me thing. It takes moments like these to put things in perspective. To realize just how fast thing can change. The events in the news seem so distant from us yet they are really all around us. Events such as these need to remind us of the bigger picture. How there is truth, hope and answers beyond the false foundation we often find ourselves on. Others need these answers…to be set free from the bondage they find themselves in…to be healed from all that hurts.
Tim – My son, Scott, can now say that he’s experienced his first school lockdown. I hope it’s his last.
Thursdays are always “late arrival” days for the kids with school starting about an hour later than usual. For some reason, when I arrived at work at 7:30 that morning, I sat my purse down, picked up the phone, called my son at home with an urgent need in my heart to tell him that I loved him, which I did.
At 11:35 that morning, I happened to check messages from the BV voice-mail system. The first message regarding the lockdown was sent at 11:30 AM — so the news had just been released. I can’t tell you how fear and worry tried to settle in. I, too prayed for the whole situation. From that point, they sent out updates every 30 minutes via voice-mail telling parents NOT to come and get their kids because no one was coming/going from the school.
I’m am very grateful to God that the incident ended as it did — without tragedy. What a joy it was to see Scott laying on the couch when I got home!!
Thanks for your prayers, Tim.
Ironically, this event began on the NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER. Can it be any more obvious to us all that we are under attack?