Broomfield UMC

Quit Looking for Lightning to Strike

by Shereen Fink, shereen.fink@broomfieldumc.org

 

Today's Inspirational Verse through the BUMC Text Ministry:

“Quit looking for lightning to strike...start recognizing and feasting on God’s words in the everyday.” Nakia Gater

We go through life thinking, “I’ll know when God shows me my calling because it will rock my world.” So, we drudge through life, doing what we think is the mundane; waiting for lightning to strike, the heavens to open up, and a loud voice to tell us, “This is IT!”  Yet, I’m convinced it is in the mundane that our mighty God is speaking to us.

Yesterday during church, a woman passed a note to me telling me she’s a substitute teacher and that recently a young man at the high school she taught at approached her and told her that he feels the focus on stopping violence is misdirected. In his opinion, violence starts with what youth hear in their music. He shared with this lady that some music (referring to Rap/Hip Hop music) demeans women and promotes violence. He continued on, telling her two Rap/Hip Hop singers who had tried to move the music in a positive direction had been murdered. He hinted at a conspiracy.

After the service I had the opportunity to speak in detail with this lady and find out that she had never met this young man of 14 or 15 before in her life, nor has she seen him since. She also said there had been no previous discussion about the issue of violence between them. The conversation seemed to come out of nowhere. Was it lightning striking or was it God trying to get her attention in the midst of everyday life? 

This teenager had never set eyes on this woman before in his life. She was a substitute for his regular teacher. Yet, somehow this young man followed a nudge to share that there’s something else driving the violence that is creating fear in people’s lives. His own heart must have been breaking when he shared with her that children as young as 8 or 9 are listening to music that plants negative seeds. His heart must have been breaking when he shared that the “good ones” had been murdered by the “evil ones."

I believe there are members of BUMC and the surrounding community who are listening to God’s word in their daily lives, recognizing they don’t have to wait for lightning to strike. They are diligently working to change the world and stop the violence. They are the 50+ people involved in the “Curbing Violence” initiative started by Gary Winkelbauer, a member of BUMC. This initiative has spawned special interest sub-committees focused on Mental Health and Violence, Safety and Security, Community and Connections and, most recently, School Partnerships.

Soon you’ll receive an update from Gary and his subcommittee chair persons providing more details on what they are doing. Hopefully the update will help you see how you can be a part of making a world where young teenagers don’t have to worry about younger children being exposed to destructive things in their lives; a world where children aren’t worried about their safety in their school or a movie theater. 

There was a reason why this young man approached this lady from BUMC. There was a reason why Pastor Ken’s message yesterday included reference to our Curbing Violence initiative and the school mentor program. There was a reason why I was setting in a service at church I don’t normally attend. There was a reason why a lady I hadn’t known that well before felt compelled to pass me a note. These weren’t lightning strikes. They were God’s word speaking in our everyday lives. We just have to recognize them.

Originally posted on the BUMC Blog on March 25, 2013.