Bad Man on Campus

…my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

Teaching at a fairly new private school made for a few challenges. One such challenge arose when trying to establish new drills such as tornado, fire, and other emergencies.

Calling a drill “Bad Man on Campus” may not have been the best idea for young students. Imagine what horrors an image of “Bad Man on Campus” might conjure up in a second grader’s mind.

The poor kid fretted and fretted over who this bad man might be, what he might do, and what we could do in the situation. The other students quickly began to tire of his constant worries and woes on the subject.

His parents must have felt the same way and decided to come up with a solution for his worry because he came to school, with a more positive attitude,

“Did you know that bad men cannot come on our campus?”

“Really, why not?” I could not help but ask.

“Because our school is a private Christian school and bad men aren’t allowed!”

Wow! If it was only that simple. What if, because of our Christianity, bad things were not allowed to happen? Although I love the faith of that second grader, sometimes bad things do happen even to Christians.

How can we cope with the negative events we have to experience? Because of our faith, we have hope. God promises He will be right here with us whatever we have to go through. We are never hopeless.

My second grade student found peace when his parents reassured him. We too can find rest in the reassurance of our Father when the campus of our world gets invaded. He promises to be with us through whatever comes our way. We can believe in that.

Thank you, God, for the promise of your sustaining peace in every situation.

Susan P.