Peace and Joy

For the past year I have been visiting churches with my friend Jennifer. This has been a tedious process for us as we have gone to the same church since we were wee tots. I've been missing Sundays at Wedgwood for awhile now, and was growing anxious to be back this September.

This Sunday I drove the familiar route to the corner of Whitman and Walton. It made my heart happy to see the church where I spent much of my time as a young kid and teenager. I felt like I was home.

It was important to be back this Sunday because today marks ten years since the shooting at Wedgwood. I was feeling apprehensive about today as it drew closer. That night is never too far from the forefront of my mind, but it tends to pop into the spotlight more regularly each September. Would this anniversary be harder than past years? Would I be overwhelmed by grief or would I be able to choose joy? Would my mind linger on the ugliness and pain of it all, or would I celebrate a life and faith?

I decided to take the afternoon off so I could go to the cemetery where my friend Cassie was buried and up to the church with Jennifer. We ended up going to Cassie's parents house to take them some flowers. We didn't want to intrude on their day, so we hadn't planned to stay long, but before we knew it we had spent three hours looking through old pictures, reminiscing, and laughing. Somewhere in those pictures I found something I didn't realize I was searching for...peace.

Looking through the pictures with the Griffins reminded me that Cassie had 14 full years before she went home to be with Jesus...fourteen years that her faith grew and reached out to others...fourteen years of laughter, hugs, and smiles...fourteen years with family and friends...fourteen years we can be thankful for and rejoice about.

While the scar will always be there, I feel the Lord has healed the wound from September 15, 1999. It has taken me exactly ten years to figure that out. So, today, I choose to be thankful for the time we are given...I choose to believe God wastes nothing...I choose to live by faith...and I choose joy!