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SCHOOL'S BACK IN SESSION—AND WITH IT, NAGGING WORRIES ABOUT ADOLESCENT VIOLENCE AND STUDENT SAFETY. WILL MY CHILD BE SAFE TODAY AS SHE WALKS HER HIGH-SCHOOL HALLWAYS?
STATISTICS ARE MIXED: TIME REPORTED THAT 37% OF 13-17 YEAR OLDS HAVE HEARD OF SHOOTING THREATS AT THEIR SCHOOLS, while NEWSWEEK QUOTED THAT, IN THE 1996-1997 SCHOOL YEAR, 43% OF THE NATION'S SCHOOLS HAD NO CRIME AT ALL.
BUT NO QUOTING OF STATISTICS CAN CHANGE WHAT HAPPENED BRUTALLY—AND UNEXPECTEDLY—LAST SPRING AT COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL IN LITTLETON, COLORADO. HERE'S ONE MOTHER'S POIGNANT STORY OF HOW THE TERROR OF APRIL 20, 1999, ALTERED HER FAMILY FOREVER.
A SIREN SHRIEKS in the distance. I stop, detach from the present, and instantly relive an afternoon when all I heard were sirens near our Littleton, Colorado, home. Once again I'm riding with my husband, John, trying to process news reports over the car radio: "Shootings … bombs … Columbine High School … Parents, pick up your kids at Leawood Elementary." Leawood, a school about three blocks from Columbine, was the designated meeting place for the students and their parents.
But our car crawls. The street in front of Columbine is jammed with ambulances and police cars. Other parents have abandoned their vehicles and are running through Clement Park toward the school. Inwardly I'm running, too. I must find our oldest son, John, 16, a sophomore at Columbine. Eighteen hundred kids, I say to myself. But I'll find him.
JOHN LOVED CHEVY trucks, the Green Bay Packers, and country music. But he also loved Jesus, whom he'd asked into his heart as a young child back in Wisconsin, where we lived for the first 12 years of his life. Our move from Wisconsin to Littleton in November, 1994, was difficult for John; he was lonely for his friends back home. In my Moms in Touch prayer group, I asked God to help him overcome his loneliness and find some friends.
Three-and-a-half years later, God answered that prayer. John met Michelle, a strong Christian, at his youth group at Riverside Baptist South Church. He also made friends with Brandon, with whom he worked at Arapahoe Acres Nursery and Garden Center. Between John's part-time job and time spent with Michelle and Brandon, we didn't see much of him—but we knew he was happy.
Then, in the summer of 1998, our family joined a team of 22 on a short-term missions trip to build houses in Juarez, Mexico. Looking at all the flimsy shacks and massive poverty, John said, "Mom, can you believe all this?"
After that trip, John recommitted his life to Christ at a youth group meeting at Riverside, and his spiritual life blossomed. He knew he wanted to serve God in some way. He invited people from work to go to youth group and prayed regularly over the phone with Michelle. He enjoyed reading his Bible daily.
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