Make a Difference

Certainly, like you, my heart is broken this morning over the news out of Florida. I grieve for the families of those whose lives were taken; and while there are some who say prayers are not enough, I believe prayers do matter, they do make a difference, so my prayers are with those in Florida and across our country.

This blog is not a political blog. I do not write about my political opinions. This is not to say the content on grandma's cookie jar is just "fluff". It is my hope and prayer, while I do include posts just for the fun of it, all of what you read on here encourages you to hand down the faith on purpose - whether through direct conversation with those you love, or as you do a craft, or bake a recipe together or get outside and enjoy the world God created.

So, without commenting on the politics which seem to always come to the front in these sad times, I want to talk about why I believe these horrible shootings continue to happen and what I believe we could actually do to help put a stop to them.

When I - and many of you - were children, we were taught absolutes in the public schools. The materials from which we learned to read and the teachers themselves taught us life was precious and there were things which were right and things which were wrong. 

Over the years, a different perspective was taught. Children were taught there were no absolutes. They were told they could decide what was right for them. Even some of the national children's clubs/organizations no longer taught values; I was told by one such group they now taught the children whatever was right for them, was right.

The problem with this "teaching" is in real life, there are absolutes. There are things which are right and things which are wrong. It is always wrong to take a life. It is always wrong to harm a child. It is always wrong to bully others. It is always wrong to harm your spouse or your children. These things, and others are the truth.

Regardless of what you believe about the "rights" of a woman, the unborn child is a child. This child has his or her own beating heart, his or her own fingerprint. They are able to experience pain at just a few weeks. It is wrong to take a life. Any life.

I believe teaching children their own "rights", how they feel about something is what matters the most is one of the things which leads to a cheapening of life. I believe teaching children it is okay to "abort", to kill the unborn child leads to a cheapening of life. I believe when we as adults do not do all we possibly are able to do to stop bullying, it cheapens life. When we as adults do not do all we are able to do to ensure children have safe adults available to them who will listen, believe and act to protect them if the adults in their lives are harming them, it leads to a cheapening of life.

If children grew up knowing all life was precious and killing others was wrong, if they grew up knowing while they matter, others matter as well and serving others matters, if they grew up knowing there were people available to them who would protect and help them; if they grew up knowing these things, I believe they would not turn to such horrible violence and we would not see over and over again in the news where a child took the lives of other children at school.

And, since my faith matters to me, I believe if children grew up knowing God loves them with a love which never ends and they are able to love Him back, our world would be much different. So, yes, pray for the families who have lost loved ones. Pray for the children and adults traumatized by yet another instance of such horrific violence. 

And take time today to tell those you love how much you love them. Tell them how God loves them even more. Tell them how they are able to love God back and they need to be people who value life. Teach absolutes and values and live them, so you are a person who loves by word and deed. Be an adult who is "safe"; someone a child may turn to for help.

I believe these things will make a difference - be a person who makes a difference.