But by the Grace of God

This week our adventures took different paths. I went to the Gateway Church women's conference Pink Impact. So, I was in the metroplex, spending time with three of our daughters who were at the conference, and two dear friends, along with a few thousand Christian women; involved in crazy good worship, and hearing a mighty chorus of speakers!

While I was gone, Les continued to work on windows. We now have new windows installed in every room!

The week was somewhat strange. While I was in a sanctified setting concentrating on the things of God, the world around me was plagued with trauma. The news of the bombs at the Boston Marathon was so shocking. Then, to come in Thursday night and watch the burning of West, TX, following the explosion at a fertilizer plant, was very sobering.

On Friday, I was feeling puny, with a touch of stomach virus. I hunkered down in the living room around noon and turned on CNN.

As I rested and watched the events in Boston, I was so saddened by the thought of this 19 year old boy, alone, probably wounded, hiding somewhere in the Boston area with 9000 officers from various agencies looking for him.  Assuming he is guilty of the horrible crime, I wanted him captured, and I want to see him brought to justice by our legal system. That said, still, my heart hurt for him. I have friends who have 19 year-old sons, and they ARE boys, easily influenced by other people, with zeal that can burn for the right or for the wrong ideas. I don't know much about this boy, if he is hard and mean, or confused and bewildered, led astray by a stronger older brother. I just know he is human, a person created and loved by God.

As the day turned to evening, and the news came out that they had found him, and he was hiding in a boat, I thought how frightened he must be, how hopeless. He was wounded and bleeding. The place he sought for refuge had become the place where he was trapped. There was no escape. His only choice was to surrender to authorities to face trial and punishment, or fight to the death. Thank God, he chose to surrender. I rejoiced at his capture, and enjoyed watching the celebration in Boston.

Right now, he is in the hospital, being treated for wounds in the same hospital where twelve of his victims are being treated for wounds that he caused. How ironic is that?

I am praying for that young man. I'm not praying for his deliverance from punishment by the judicial system. I am praying for deliverance from the realm of darkness that he is in, from the pit of destruction that he is held in. I am praying the he will see that he has believed a lie, and that by God's mercy, his eyes will be opened to see the truth. The crimes he has committed are horrific, killing the innocent, threatening our safety and security, using a valued cultural event for violence. No excuses, no justification or rationalizations.

Jesus died for those sins. I am praying that someone will share the wonderful truth of God's love and mercy with this man while he is in the hospital. My hope is that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will come to know the love of God through Jesus Christ, and that, whether he pays for his crimes by the death penalty, dies while serving a sentence in prison, or is found to not be guilty of those crimes, that one day I will see him in heaven.

Imagine the testimony that he will have.