A New Normal

We’ve just witnessed the nation’s worst shooting in history. Thirty-three students and faculty killed at Virginia Tech in one morning. Repeatedly I heard students and others saying in interviews, “I just want to forget it” and “I just want to get back to normal.” It’s not likely to happen. As far as normal has to do with our spirit – fear, anger, sadness, anxiety. etc. – things will never be normal again. Have you forgotten Columbine? Members of our church in Fort Worth, Texas haven’t forgotten September 15, 1999 when a lone gunman with two guns, two hundred rounds of ammunition and a pipe bomb, took twelve minutes to kill seven, seriously wound seven, traumatize hundreds, including members of my family, and finally take his own life. We learned that you don’t go back to normal. A new normal must be created. Maybe that’s part of what the Psalmist meant when he asked God to renew a right or steadfast spirit within him (Ps. 51:10). Come to think of it, this might be a good week for another renewal of spirit.

To download my eBook of the account of the Wedgwood Baptist Church shootings, click here.