For Marian Fisher

The news today reported that one of the little girls in the slaughter that took place at an Amish schoolhouse a few days ago asked to be shot first. Marian Fisher made an effort to save the younger girls by offering herself first. She was 13 years old. Her little 11-year old sister Barbie offered herself next and, by God’s grace, survived to tell the tale.

There are times when I am ashamed of being a human being. When I first heard about the monstrous evil that one demented man inflicted on such a peaceful community it grieved me to be a part of a race that could conceive of murdering it’s own children.

The fact is that we all draw from the same well that is human nature. If we can conceive of a thing, either good or evil, someone somewhere has done it, is doing it or will do it. That we can conceive of it means it is not foreign to us. This is both a blessing and a curse. We can understand the hopes and the dreams of other human beings because we all draw on the same nature. We can understand their thought processes. It’s a blessing because it can give us empathy. We can know what it’s like to be in another person’s shoes. It’s a curse, too, because it means that the evil that was / is in their hearts is also a part of us… We are all in this together.

While I am sometimes disheartened by the darkness that is in human hearts, I am also uplifted by the love and the courage that human hearts are capable of. This little girl, who never got a chance to live, showed such love and such courage that it leaves me in awe. Inside this little girl was true nobility. Inside that little chest beat the heart of a lion!

I am also in awe of the forgiveness that the Amish people have shown. They have consigned themselves to the will of God and are content to turn all over to Him. I can’t say I’ve ever met an Amish person, or even seen one in the flesh, but I am moved by their light to the world. That’s one good thing that’s already come from this.

I know that some goodness will come from this and touch other lives too. I know that little Marian and the girls that died with her are asleep awaiting the return of Jesus the Christ. They will be awakened one day to everlasting life. In that day our very nature will be changed and the darkness in the human heart will be banished forever by the light of God. The suffering of Marian and her schoolmates is over. For now I pray for God to heal the broken hearts left behind.

Marian Fisher is a name that will be remembered long after the name of the man who butchered her is forgotten. This little girl will be a jewel in the crown of God one day. Of that I have no doubt.