Leading & Learning

Ten years. A decade. It seems like a long time in a lot of ways. But really, it’s not. Time goes by so fast, especially when I stop and think about it. Over the last couple of weeks I have been thinking about it more than usual.

Tomorrow marks an unusual “anniversary.” Ten years ago tomorrow at 11:21 two young boys decided to act on a premeditated plan of violence and hatred. And it changed my life.

It was a nice Spring Colorado day. Business as usual. I was at the office with a handful of other D2S staffers when someone heard the news. Greg was out of the office meeting with some youth pastors at the time and so those of us back in the office scrambled to make sure he had heard and they were praying. The phones began to ring as friends began to process what was going on just a few miles away. All we knew to do was to pray and get others to pray.

Those of us with kids in school (my son was a freshman in high school at the time) wrestled with feelings of fear and panic. Should we go get our kids? As parents we wanted to control the situation by gathering our families and going home to lock out the world. I remember wondering about the “why” behind these boy’s behavior. What could have driven two middle class suburban teenagers to such a desperate place? How could this have happened?

Hours later I was in the parking lot to pick up my son. “Did you hear?” I asked. “Of course, mom,” he answered. “Are you okay? Are you scared?” I was terrified but didn’t want him to see it. “Yeah, a little bit.” He was at an age where conversations were more short than sweet.

It’s amazing to me how quickly I can recall the emotions of that day even after ten years have passed. Once I knew my son was safe I began to think about the hundreds of teenagers that D2S had been able to reach up til then. We needed to reach more! These kids need hope. They need purpose.

My prayer was (and still is) that God will use this small army of D2S teenagers to reach their own generation! I have no idea what else it’s going to take to make this happen, but He does. I just keep asking Him for wisdom. Help me. Help us. Lord, please don’t let this happen again.

Please pray with me this week that the memory of this horrible massacre will burden the hearts of teenagers to reach out to every teen around them (inside or outside of their “circle”) with the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray also for love, encouragement, and support for them from the adults who surround them.

I had a great talk with Jane last week. Remember Jane? She is my good friend and fellow Dare 2 Share co-laborer who is now dealing with a second cancer diagnosis after just recently recovering from breast cancer a little over a year ago.

Jane is 30% through her chemo treatments. 2 down, 4 to go. We had a minute in the midst of the busy work day for me to ask how she was doing. How she was REALLY doing. She sat down and calmly explained to me that while it has been hard (and especially difficult on her children), God has given her just enough grace and mercy that she needs at any given moment. We joked about how it could be illustrated like a video game – you jump and sure enough here comes a platform to land on – just in time!

Sure enough. That’s how He rolls. “Come to me,” He says. “Don’t worry about tomorrow, today has it’s own problems,” He reminds us.

Last week Rick’s company was sold. It certainly didn’t come as a major surprise, they had been struggling for years. We can’t even recall a profitable quarter. But when you are 50 years old with MS and have commited over 15 years to a place, it’s still a hardy jolt. How’s Rick? He, like Jane, is a pillar of faith. He won’t know anything for about a month while the company goes through a special accelerated Chapter 11 bankruptcy process and then finalizes the merger. But Rick is patiently waiting to see what God has in store next.

We’ve been talking for a while about life changes as we enter a new “season.” Looks like those changes will come whether we like it or not! 🙂

So, here we go… JUMP! Thank you Lord, in advance, because we know that you will provide that platform for us to land on “just in time.”