Remembering 12.09.07

Today is the one year anniversary of the shooting at my church in Colorado Springs. I still remember that day so clearly, but yet still cant believe that it has already been a year. I want there when it happened, my family left just about 5 minuted before the first shots were fired. My sister called me, crying almost panicked and saying "Are you okay?! There was a gunman that opened fire at the church! Where are ou guys, are you all safe?" We were at the grocery store, and I remember having a complete emotional breakdown, panick attack in the middle of Albertson's. Even though I wasnt there to experience or see it, it still pierced my heart because New Life is my home, my family and my family was attacked on that day. It still hurts to think of what happened o that day. We had just been rocovering from a hue blow of losing our pastor a year before, now this. We lost 2 incredible teenage girls, Rachel and Stephanie Works....sisters. I cant imagine the pain their famly went through, losing 2 daughters and sisters. But I have seen them grow, heal and listened to their story..seen God work in their brokeness. It is truely a miracle. Everyone asks, "Where was God? Why did this happen?" It happened cause the enemy wanted to destroy us. And God was right there in the midst of the horror and pain. He never leaves us. He used a very incredible woman to stop further damage from happening, we lost 2, and that is so saddening, but we could have lost so many more. It could have been mass murder. But God stopped that. I dont believe that December 9th was the defining moment for New Life, rather, it was the wednesday after at our family meeting. It was emotional. A lot of people spoke, and many tears were shed. But at the end of the night there was an anthem that spontaneously rose up and exploded from our NLC family. They started to play the song Overcome, and it flowed out of everyone there. We were singing, no, shouting, "We will overcome, by the Blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony. Everyone Overcome." It has been our anthem ever since. And we have overcome. These blows did not knock us down, yes they hurt, but they did not destroy us. They made us stronger and like any family, we pulled together and held each other up. We have overcome. It is truely a miracle that our church has survived so much, but God has huge plans for us and greater is HE that is in us than he that is in the world. We have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. =)