Remembering Columbine Ten Years Later

Ten years ago
in a not-so-little town
on the front range of the Rockies,
a room designed for learning
became a tomb for those gunned down.
There were bullets and blood
and a reign of terror
followed by a flood of fear.

Wearing black trench coats
to hide their insecurities,
two boys in men's bodies
lived out the violence
they'd previously caged in their minds.

It was a nightmare that left a nation
blind with rage and grief.
And for those who lost loved ones,
a day without regrets
and lingering sorrow
remains only a dream.

It's the kind of tragedy we never dreamed
would strike in our own backyard.
It's hard to explain how and why,
but we try 'cause we must,
while we simply trust
in a loving God who wept with us
and who remains in complete control.

When bullets fly, children die.
And when hearts break, we feel the ache
and reach out to those left alone
trusting alone in God's Word.
Words that promise
that no one needs to grieve without hope.

Though the slope of life remains slippery,
we are offered stable footing
as we stand at the foot of a bloodied cross
and peer into an empty grave.