Lord Have Mercy

Yesterday morning I saw a post from a friend about another act of violence at a high school.  This time, it hit much closer to home, only an hour and a half from where we live.  I have dear friends who live in that area, and I still am not aware whether or not anyone that I know was directly impacted.  I have a very difficult time listening to all the gory details of these things, so I have only caught bits and pieces of the news stories and little tidbits from comments made by my Facebook friends.  I don't pretend to understand why anyone would purposely harm others; all I can do is pray for all involved, including those who made the choice to do these things.  As difficult as it is, I have to remind myself that God loves them just as much as He loves me.  Jesus took their trespasses on Himself just as He took mine.  I have friends who made very, very poor choices in their past (including murder), and I have seen firsthand what God can do in the life of such a one.  So I lift up these young people and ask God to be merciful and to intervene in their lives so that they can fulfill the destiny that He has for them.