It’s raining and cool today…but I am ok.  I’m in my office with a touch of heat stirring.  I’m sitting in a very comfortable chair (kudos to Office Depot)…and I’m sure most of you know I’m sipping a cup of coffee. I might even tackle a pack of Nabs here in a few.  I’m replaying Sunday’s sermon in my head…thinking about what I should have said, what I didn’t say, what I could have said better…my habit for most Mondays and Tuesdays.  I’m typing this on a nice little computer that will do much more than I know how to do.  I am behind as always.  Two meetings this morning under my belt and I’ve not even made a dent in the day’s schedule.  Part of me wants to complain…but I can’t.

I can’t because I’m thinking about a fellow pastor.  He’s a man I’ve never met.  His schedule is much different than mine.  He’s not sitting at a desk typing on a nice computer.  He’s probably not hungry for food-period…much less a snack.  He’s not thinking about Sunday’s sermon.  In fact, I can’t even begin to imagine how he is able to think at all.  As the pastor of FBC Sutherland Springs, Frank Pomeroy is facing things that no pastor handbook, seminary class, or conference theme in existence is equipped to address.  He has lost his 14 year old daughter, Anna Bell, to a crazed shooter who walked into the small town country church on a beautiful Sunday morning and killed 26 people and injured two dozen more.  My heart and my soul are broken for this dear man and his wife.  I am broken for the church family, the community of Sutherland Springs, and ultimately our nation.

Like you, I sat traumatized in front of my computer Sunday afternoon reading every article and watching every video clip I could find right up to church time Sunday evening.  ******************************  To be totally honest, I had to stop writing this blog over a week ago now.  I was a mess…and I remain one even now.  Some things are just too hard to talk or write about.

The reality is we have all tried to digest what has happened.  We are living in a country we no longer recognize.  Schools and churches were historically understood to be safe places.  Kneeling for the national anthem was unthinkable.  Individuals were a part of the greater whole and caring about other people was what we all “should” do.  In my mind, all of these things have changed in the blink of an eye.  Sadly, no place is truly safe, as we all have come to know.  Kneeling in disrespect is now called honorable.  The individual is now the main thing.  And caring about others is left for the few.   This didn’t happen overnight.  The ripples from thoughts many years ago, have now reached our shores in a mind-numbing reality.  In short, this IS where we live.

I will write more on these things soon.  For now, we mourn with the dear folks impacted by this, and other senseless tragedies.  We must commit ourselves to being what we know we should be.  It’s not enough to lament our nation’s condition…nor is it enough to rant about how things used to be.  We must renew ourselves to being what we’ve been called to be…the people of God, His representatives in the world.  May God be gracious and strengthen those who remain faithful in these days.  May God bless Texas…and the rest of us.  Stay Classy Monticello.