LOVE WITH YOUR HEART!

In a town near me this week a senior high student entered a high school and shot two people. He drove away and shot and killed himself right after. The two people shot were staff and so far one, a woman has died from her wounds.

A friend of mine on an internet social website said "Let us all be that person that keeps someone from going too far." What unbelievable truth there is in this statement. For lack of a shorter phrase, here goes...Pay it Forward!

This is what we all should be doing. But what should we be paying forward? And who should we be paying it forward to?

Our Love
Our sincere love, not the kind that is selfish and not the kind where we are expecting to get love back but the SINCEREST type of love. Love the people who are obviously hurting. Love those that are maybe hurting. Love those that appear to be happy. Love those that seem unloveable. What do all these people have in common? They are people and All People need love regardless of what we think or don't think about them.

Our Friendship
This is different than love. We can love people but not be their friend. Perhaps if this young man had that one friendship that he could have confided into then this tragedy wouldn't have happened. Friendship is walking along with someone during the good, the bad and the ugly. Friendship is the next deeper step to love. There are people in my world I love but I haven't spent the time to create the friendships I should with them. That is my mistake and not theirs. Are there people you love but don't stretch yourself to get to know them enough to become their friend? This is the time to probably re-exam those friendships in your world-in my world. You-me may be the one person through friendship to help someone stand one more day, to exist one more day.

Is this a heavy burden I challenge you to? You bet it is, absolutely! But without challenge, without each other, without friendship and love we all just exist. How boring, how selfish is that of us. To just exist in our world is wrong-to just watch those hurting around us and not reaching out is almost criminal. What if this young man had one friend? What if he had the one person who looked past their own selfishness and looked into his eyes and saw pain and struggle and grief? Maybe today two people would still be alive, one person would not be in the hospital, hundreds of children would not be traumatized.

Don't get me wrong, this young man picked up the gun, loaded it, drove to the school, entered the building. He chose to shoot these two people, he chose to end his life. He made choice after choice that was wrong BUT where were the friendships? Where were the people that loved him, where was the unselfishness of the world to reach him?

My heart cries out for the parents of everyone in this tragedy. The two older people that were shot are someone's children. This young man has parents who are now walking an incredibly painful trail. I can't even fathom all of the fall out that this family will have to deal with. But again, here is a challenge--Who will be these people's friends? Who will love the young man parent's? It is easier to love the victim's families but this family is victimized too.

WE NEED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER, WE NEED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER, WE NEED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Have I said it loud enough? This is my challenge to myself and to you today. Pay it forward and maybe save a life, maybe not. But pay it forward, stop being selfish and LOOK BEYOND YOUR EYES AND LOVE WITH YOUR HEART--this is paying it forward.