YouthWorker Journal - March/April 2009 - (Page 42)

CRISIS DEATHS IN THE FAMILY Lessons–and Wisdom for Youth Workers– from a Grieving Father by Ron Moore ABOVE Ron Moore with a photo of his son, Aaron, and a family portrait the family had taken before the 1996 tragedy. My son, Aaron, asked me to write this. Actually his request was that I remember. That single word was the last word in the suicide note he wrote before he murdered my wife and daughter Dec. 6, 1996, in the rural community of Moses Lake, Washington. Prior to that, my son’s world was darkened by the school shooting at Frontier Junior High in Moses Lake that claimed the lives of two students and a teacher. One of the students killed was Arnie—Aaron’s mentor and cousin, and my Godson. By profession I am an engineer. My training and life experiences to that point in time always had an emphasis on numbers, logic and making everything fit into the “system.” The tragic school shooting followed by the horrific death of my family changed my immature view of the world. That change did not happen quickly or without pain. Why? During the winter of 1997 I walked through the rooms of my house that had once been filled with laughter, and later rang out with gunshots. God and I battled, and I struggled to answer the question of Why? Within the walls of that house, my faith struggled and died. Through that death my faith was shattered, reshaped, tempered and resurrected by Christ as He carried me out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. My relationship with Christ, and the grace He offered me for my iniquities and failures, was all that kept me from following in my son’s footsteps. The Failure of Relationships Engineers are taught always to look at the root of any problem for probable solutions—or the problem may become chronic. Since 1996, there have been numerous school shootings impacting our society. I “As I walked through the rooms that had been filled with children’s laughter—now silent— God and I battled.” have watched and prayed for other families—as school shootings in Dunblane, Scotland; Jonesboro, Arkansas; Littleton, Colorado; Santee, California; Erfurt, Germany; Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania; Blacksburg, Virginia; DeKalb, Illinois, and elsewhere have taken the lives of other children and young people. As I prayed, I deliberated and discovered the root I was looking for—the common thread: the failure of relationships. 42 March/April 2009 | YouthWorkerJournal.com http://www.YouthWorkerJournal.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of YouthWorker Journal - March/April 2009

YouthWorker Journal - March/April 2009 Contents Feedback Youth Culture Update Culture Watch Encountering God Campus Ministry The Urban Take Sight Unseen Worldview Soul Care Managing Your Ministry 10 Minutes in God's Word From IQ to CQ Caring Amidst Crisis Risky Business When Tragedy Gets Personal Deaths in the Family Stopping Suicide Blessed Are They Who Mourn Healing the Healer Resources for Working with Crisis Tools Stirring it Up

YouthWorker Journal - March/April 2009

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