Tragedy has fallen on my little town and my friends and acquaintances this week. I, not being a parent, can't relate to the sadness a parent feels when a child is lost. I can, however, relate to the bullying that went on during my time in school. Children lack the wisdom and discernment that comes with age. Oh if only we were able to have it when we were young. It would make life so much more understandable in ways.
I was a bully, and I know I wasn't the only one. There's one girl in particular that I preyed upon, not to a great extent, but we shunned her. We made fun of her. We didn't have cyber bullying at that point, but what our tongues did was just as bad. I don't know what became of her. I've never heard from her again. She's fallen into the abyss of my history. What I do know is that I've asked God for forgiveness in that... and hope that her life is full of joy and hope.
What I do know is that words are as sharp as a two edged sword. They can't be taken back - you can't un-ring a bell, so they say. Children need to learn at home what words can do, and parents are responsible for that. I don't carry that responsibility, but parenting is the most difficult and most precious job a person can ever have. Some take it as seriously as they can, and some let things fall away. The children don't know what they're not taught. We're not born with prejudice, hate, and the willingness to be mean... it's learned. Public schools and buses were the place where I learned a lot of that... but there were things at home that I learned as well. I regret those things... but they can't be taken back. All I can do is rise above what was once my opinion, and become a wiser and more loving person.
Suicide is never the answer. Mom always said 'it's a permanent fix to a temporary problem'. But that doesn't help now. She's gone. She couldn't take life anymore. I've been at that threshold... but backed away more times than I can count. Many things, inner and outer, can cause a person to be left at that point of hopelessness. This was outer... and the people who pushed this girl to the edge of sanity and threw her over will have to deal with that the rest of their lives. How must that feel, now, and in their futures, to know that they cost someone their life? I dare say, it will haunt them forever. Just as this tragedy haunts the people and family who loved this girl.
Take parenting seriously - be open with your children. Talk to them honestly, and thoughtfully. You are their guide. God is the ultimate Guide, and He knows our lives backward and forward. This girl's life had meaning, and purpose. So does her death. We don't know, and don't understand what the Lord is doing in all of it, but He indeed is in control. He has her now... she isn't in pain any more. Let those thoughts bring peace... and let the Lord in - you won't be sorry.
