I woke up yesterday to the morning news show reporting two officers had been shot in East Memphis. Police were on the scene. As details were uncovered, it was an apparent drug bust that had gone bad. One police officer, Martoiya Lang, lost her life protecting our city. Mrs. Lang was the mother of four girls, ages 2 to 14 years old. The other officer survived. Mrs. Lang is the first female officer to lose her life while serving on the MPD.
As these events were unfolding, there were other news bleeps. There had been a shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, CT. (I had a feeling of 9/11 all over again, not of terrorism, but of tragedy happening one right after the other.) Pictures of parents scrambling to the school, waiting, hopeful, watching, praying....please God, bring my child out alive.
And then the lastest report of those dead, 20 children, six adults at the scene, the shooters mother, and lastly the shooter at the scene. Eighteen of those children died at the scene. The shooter was in his early 20's.
The enrollment at Sandy Hook Elementary School was around 500 students. Yesterday was December 14th. Those children were thinking about Santa, and classroom Christmas parties, and Christmas holidays. School is supposed to be someplace safe, where you can learn. These little ones from God never dreamed such terror would enter their day when they brushed their teeth that morning. Nor did their parents, or their teachers.
Today this city is in morning, both for the loss of Officer Lang, and these children and teachers of Sandy Hook who were so brutally gunned down. Our nation is in morning. The surviving officers of the MPD and other law enforcement agencies across the nation morn for the loss of a fellow officer. The surviving students and teachers at Sandy Hook are in shock, and will NEVER erase the pictures from their minds eye of what they saw yesterday. What will their Christmas be like? What will it mean to them? What will it be like and mean in the future? What effect will it have on them, these children, when they are grown, marry, and have children of their own, and have Christmas? Just what has this shooter done?
And then there are the parents of the children died. I have no words, only scripture:
"A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled,
because they are no more." Matthew 2:18
As these events were unfolding, there were other news bleeps. There had been a shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, CT. (I had a feeling of 9/11 all over again, not of terrorism, but of tragedy happening one right after the other.) Pictures of parents scrambling to the school, waiting, hopeful, watching, praying....please God, bring my child out alive.
And then the lastest report of those dead, 20 children, six adults at the scene, the shooters mother, and lastly the shooter at the scene. Eighteen of those children died at the scene. The shooter was in his early 20's.
The enrollment at Sandy Hook Elementary School was around 500 students. Yesterday was December 14th. Those children were thinking about Santa, and classroom Christmas parties, and Christmas holidays. School is supposed to be someplace safe, where you can learn. These little ones from God never dreamed such terror would enter their day when they brushed their teeth that morning. Nor did their parents, or their teachers.
Today this city is in morning, both for the loss of Officer Lang, and these children and teachers of Sandy Hook who were so brutally gunned down. Our nation is in morning. The surviving officers of the MPD and other law enforcement agencies across the nation morn for the loss of a fellow officer. The surviving students and teachers at Sandy Hook are in shock, and will NEVER erase the pictures from their minds eye of what they saw yesterday. What will their Christmas be like? What will it mean to them? What will it be like and mean in the future? What effect will it have on them, these children, when they are grown, marry, and have children of their own, and have Christmas? Just what has this shooter done?
And then there are the parents of the children died. I have no words, only scripture:
"A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled,
because they are no more." Matthew 2:18
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