I'm positively pooped, but couldn't go to bed without sharing a few words on the anniversary of the Columbine shooting. I know every generation has those "where were you when" moments like JFK's assassination or 9/11 or some natural disaster. Columbine was such a pivotal moment of my high school career. There had been other school shootings and there were more after, but I specifically remember getting off the bus at a track meet in Salisbury and hearing about a devastating school shooting. I'll never forget it.
As more details surfaced about the shooters, everyone was analyzing their motives and staying alert for copycats. A year and a half earlier there had been a shooting at Heath High School in Paducah, Kentucky at an early morning prayer group. I was one of the leaders of our high school FCA group that met Thursday mornings before school and for weeks after Columbine, we all jumped every time the door opened during our meetings. Less than a year before Columbine, there was a shooting at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon where a guy in a trench coat had a hit list. Not long after Columbine, a trench coat wearing classmate was expelled supposedly for having a hit list. I've read a ton on Columbine, especially on the lives of Rachel Scott and Cassie Bernall after hearing about their faith, and while I don't want to continue bringing faith to the shooters of Columbine, I do want to remember what the victims went through and do anything I can to prevent it from happening again.
Steven Curtis Chapman is an alum of Heath High School and wrote "With Hope" after the shooting and Columbine survivors Jonathan and Stephen Cohen wrote "Friend of Mine" after the tragedy. Michael W. Smith also wrote "This Is Your Time" in remembrance of Cassie Bernall. Let's remember the good and make a positive difference in the people around us. Here's to remembering the good that came out of Columbine, April 20, 1999.
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