THE KINDS of calls I respond to as a volunteer chaplain with the county sheriff's department don't typically involve crimes of such severity. In fact, I'm mainly there for the officers—to provide support and a listening ear. But several months ago, when I heard that a mass murder had just occurred in my hometown, I felt compelled to go to the scene and see what I could do.
The shooting took place during a church service, and when I arrived at the hotel where the church holds its activities, the members who were milling around mostly seemed to be in shock. But there was one little girl, about nine or ten years old, who seemed totally unfazed, even though her grandfather had been killed. We were sitting around a table, and people were sharing their feelings about what had happened. And she was completely bubbly and animated. I remember her wide eyes and the way she said, "I was so scared." She was just a little girl telling her story.
But about an hour later I saw her again, and this time, she was crying. Her Bible had just been recovered from the scene, so we sat down together to read the 91st Psalm, which begins, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." We talked about how everyone dwells with God, including her grandpa. That he had always been with God, and was with God right then, and that God was loving him just the way God was loving her.
