Ready for Whatever

~ pastoraaron81

When a shooter made her way into a private Nashville school on Monday, March 27, 2023, six victims lost their lives in an unthinkable tragedy. Three 9-year-olds died, plus three school employees in their early sixties. The shooter was also killed on the scene.

The Bible talks about this. Jesus was talking to His disciples about what the world would be like at the end of the age and He listed off eight signs (read Matthew 24:3-14). What happened in Nashville is included in two of the signs: (#4, found in v. 9) “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” and (#8, found in v. 12) “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”

The following is a blog post on the school’s website. It was written on April 30, 2020 by Dr. Koonce, who was one of the six victims. Her words are powerful, especially knowing that she paid the ultimate price.

“Whatever” by Dr. Katherine Koonce, Head of School

This morning I spent some time talking to God about this past week, and a particular word came to mind, which is a typical outcome in my conversations with God. The word of the week is WHATEVER. Hold on. Not so fast. This is not the WHATEVER you may be thinking about. This is not the WHATEVER that punctuates so many frustrating conversations. This is not the WHATEVER of the middle-schooler not wanting to continue a conversation. We have come to expect this word to be a response to something we don’t like but can’t avoid. But what I heard is an entirely different case of WHATEVER.

The word WHATEVER occurs over 170 times in the Scriptures, usually indicating wholehearted commitment and obedience – to do WHATEVER God asks of us. God tells us that WHATEVER we ask in His name, we will be given. In Psalm 1, the one whose delight is in the Lord is depicted as being like a tree planted by a stream, and WHATEVER this person does prospers. But perhaps the clearest depiction of WHATEVER is in the book of Philippians. WHATEVER is true, WHATEVER is noble, WHATEVER is right, WHATEVER is pure, WHATEVER is lovely, WHATEVER is admirable – these are the things on which God wants us to dwell. Paul goes on to say that he has “learned to be content WHATEVER the circumstances.”

Daily I need to open my heart to WHATEVER. WHATEVER God has for our school, WHATEVER the duration of our distance learning, WHATEVER the trials we’re having to endure – we still believe, we are still faithful, we will still love Him wholeheartedly. WHATEVER difficulties or blessings are evident in our homes, we will seek to do the next right thing. With hands open to WHATEVER, we will make good decisions, we will construct good plans, and we will seek to do WHATEVER pleases God.

When will we open again for campus learning? What will our end-of-year celebrations look like? Will we get to experience our school traditions again together this year? There is no one who wants to return to school more than I do.  Yet WHATEVER the rest of our school year holds, we will work to meet each other’s needs, to love each other well, and to prepare our students faithfully.

I invite you to join me in a whole-hearted and active pursuit of WHATEVER.

In the third paragraph she wrote, “Whatever God has for our school,” not knowing that 1,062 days later her school would be the scene of a mass shooting and her earthly life would be over.

Are you ready for whatever God may have in store?

Sources

Published by pastoraaron81

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