My Perspective

This month's article was originally written after the Dawson College shootings and then rewritten after the Virginia Tech shootings. I have children in University, Seminary and high school and I pray and hope they will never have to experience what many have with the horrific shootings in the past. My prayers go out to all the families and victims still suffering as a result of these terrible events.




Hope is the Answer
By Deborah Blackburn
(To Honor the memory of All the victims of Virginia Tech )
The awful events that took place at Virginia Tech on April 16th, 2007 effected us all deeply. This article is to inspire us and helps us realize true hope is the answer.
"To Cherish a desire with anticipation or to expect with confidence." This is the definition for the word hope according to Webster’s Dictionary. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope." Albert Einstein once said, " Learn from yesterday, live for today and hope for tomorrow."
Hope is necessary in our lives because often the way is unknown. Hope is the habit of our hearts and without it life soon becomes hollow, meaningless and unsatisfying. "Were it not for hope the heart would break." I believe true hope is not wishful thinking; it is faith in fact. Having a strong faith brings with it what our hearts truly seek...hope. I dare say that the man responsible for the Virginia Tech shootings this month had certainly lost all hope. Perhaps if this man had a faith that promoted hope this senseless tragedy would not have occurred. At a time like this we need to be reminded of the importance of investing in our children when they are young. For the values that we instill in our children are the values by which they will raise their families. So the life of our investment is not just one generation, it is generation after generation.
Our world keeps reminding us of the danger, unfairness and disappointment in which we live. In understanding that hope is essential for our well being we must then search for the strongest source of hope available to us. Sadly, many still do not realize the most important thing God offers mankind is ...hope. This hopeful answer we all need is found in Jesus Christ. We understand this in His redemptive mission to rescue us from all sin, plight and darkness and His assurance of protective care in His Kingdom forever...Heaven. (Col. 1:13) A Chaplin once said " We think we are in the land of the living going to the land of the dying, when in reality we are in the land of the dying headed for the land of the living." The belief in the reality of heaven would not only be clearly in view, but through this hope our actions and the way we live our daily lives would also become wonderfully rearranged. Once we lift our eyes to heaven and understand what awaits us there, our way of life takes on new meaning. We then cherish a desire with anticipation.
With faith in Christ, one has hope for today, tomorrow and the future. Hope for our pain and our sicknesses. Hope for our tears and our sorrow. Hope when life is simply not fair. Hope for the things that we cannot change. Hope for loneliness when it seems no one cares. Hope for life and most of all, eternal hope for our souls. I believe it is never too late to get back to instilling a faith in our children that equips them with true hope. Moreover, the family is the main root that must be accountable and responsible to do this.
My prayer for the many who are suffering during the aftermath of the horrific rampage that took place at Virginia Tech is that when they are searching for answers they will turn to God. In finding God they will find the hope we all desire. Remembering that, we all need hope because often the way is unknown until ..........you know Jesus.
Please remember to pray for the families and friends of all the victims, the students of Virginia Tech and countless others effected by this horrific rampage.