I prayed today that the Lord would take this off my heart and mind if I wasn't supposed to say something and it's pressing on my heart more than ever so here we go.
Orlando is home to me. Let me elaborate. I do not live in the city of Orlando, I am safe. Whenever I tell people out of state where it is that I live in Florida I will often say Orlando. Orlando is where it's at. The good food, the good schools, all the attractions (besides the beach of course) - they're all a 45 minute drive away in Orlando. Orlando is where we get our news. Orlando is where we get Disney, and we all know how important Disney is to you if you are a good Floridian...human being actually. So essentially Orlando is home. Florida is home. America is home.
As many of you know, I just returned home from a trip to Greece. On this trip I had the opportunity to meet and interact with a displaced people group that was fleeing for their lives because ISIS was attacking and destroying their country. In no way am I trying to EQUATE the Orlando shootings with the systematic destruction of an entire country and it's citizens, the two could never be equated. I am COMPARING them, however, and you must see the parallels.
These people were not home but they felt safe. I came home, and now I do not feel safe. I feel frustrated and sad, just as I did at the refugee camp, alongside the people who's lives were destroyed by ISIS.
I have questions.
Why was the news of this shooting not mentioned in my church service this morning? I realize that the reports of the death toll did not come through until after the time my service began, but this is hardly an excuse. I, at 8 AM, was vaguely aware of a gunman/shooter situation that had gone on the night before in Orlando (I glanced at my phone - that's literally how unavoidable this news was), but I find it hard to believe that no one in leadership knew of the immensity of what had just happened. Why the silence? We pray for local churches every Sunday, including the Orlando area. We are the Orlando area. I don't understand why, as a room packed full of Christ followers, we did not fervently lift the city we call home up in prayer? We did not pray for the victims, why? Does it have anything to do with the rainbow flag that has been waving alongside the American flag in the aftershock of this horrific tragedy?
If the presence of that flag gives you any pause in your reaction to the massacre, you need to check yourself, hard - it's absolutely disgraceful. I'm frustrated by some of the comments I've already heard about witnesses statements, lifestyles, and backgrounds. I don't want to make any assumptions, but if what I fear most is true about radio silence from my church this morning, I may need to rethink where I spend my Sunday mornings.
Yes I am full of frustration. I am heartbroken. I don't understand why ISIS kills the innocent.
I implore you, keep your focus and prayers on what matters. That's what I am going to do.. I am going to let my heart break for what breaks the heart of my God. Some of his children died senselessly today.
Pray for the victims families killed by these men both in Syria and America. Thank God for each day we get. I am not here to tell you where God is when something like this happens. I don't have an easy answer for that but I know that God is the same today as he was yesterday, and he will be the same tomorrow. And that's about the only assurance I have right now.
Orlando is home to me. Let me elaborate. I do not live in the city of Orlando, I am safe. Whenever I tell people out of state where it is that I live in Florida I will often say Orlando. Orlando is where it's at. The good food, the good schools, all the attractions (besides the beach of course) - they're all a 45 minute drive away in Orlando. Orlando is where we get our news. Orlando is where we get Disney, and we all know how important Disney is to you if you are a good Floridian...human being actually. So essentially Orlando is home. Florida is home. America is home.
As many of you know, I just returned home from a trip to Greece. On this trip I had the opportunity to meet and interact with a displaced people group that was fleeing for their lives because ISIS was attacking and destroying their country. In no way am I trying to EQUATE the Orlando shootings with the systematic destruction of an entire country and it's citizens, the two could never be equated. I am COMPARING them, however, and you must see the parallels.
These people were not home but they felt safe. I came home, and now I do not feel safe. I feel frustrated and sad, just as I did at the refugee camp, alongside the people who's lives were destroyed by ISIS.
I have questions.
Why was the news of this shooting not mentioned in my church service this morning? I realize that the reports of the death toll did not come through until after the time my service began, but this is hardly an excuse. I, at 8 AM, was vaguely aware of a gunman/shooter situation that had gone on the night before in Orlando (I glanced at my phone - that's literally how unavoidable this news was), but I find it hard to believe that no one in leadership knew of the immensity of what had just happened. Why the silence? We pray for local churches every Sunday, including the Orlando area. We are the Orlando area. I don't understand why, as a room packed full of Christ followers, we did not fervently lift the city we call home up in prayer? We did not pray for the victims, why? Does it have anything to do with the rainbow flag that has been waving alongside the American flag in the aftershock of this horrific tragedy?
If the presence of that flag gives you any pause in your reaction to the massacre, you need to check yourself, hard - it's absolutely disgraceful. I'm frustrated by some of the comments I've already heard about witnesses statements, lifestyles, and backgrounds. I don't want to make any assumptions, but if what I fear most is true about radio silence from my church this morning, I may need to rethink where I spend my Sunday mornings.
Yes I am full of frustration. I am heartbroken. I don't understand why ISIS kills the innocent.
I implore you, keep your focus and prayers on what matters. That's what I am going to do.. I am going to let my heart break for what breaks the heart of my God. Some of his children died senselessly today.
Pray for the victims families killed by these men both in Syria and America. Thank God for each day we get. I am not here to tell you where God is when something like this happens. I don't have an easy answer for that but I know that God is the same today as he was yesterday, and he will be the same tomorrow. And that's about the only assurance I have right now.
