The tragedy in Charleston is very difficult to understand. A lot of questions are being asked, but it is amazing how people are responding. Love, mercy and compassion are being expressed by those in Charleston.

Rubel Shelly wrote an article in the Fax of Life in 2005 in which compassion was displayed. He told of a group of teenagers that stole a credit card and then bought DVD,s video games and groceries. As they were driving around, one of the boys in the back seat had an idea: why not throw some of the things from the grocery bags at oncoming traffic? One of the missiles launched was a 20-pound frozen turkey. Victoria Ruvolo was the unlucky victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The turkey came through the windshield and shattered every bone in Victoria’s face. She was in a two week induced coma and after several surgeries and months of rehabilitation, she was left with many permanent impairments from the trauma she suffered that awful night.

The following is from Rubel’s article:

“Last week (2004), Victoria saw the young man who did her such harm for the first time. She was in court to witness the sentencing of 19 year old Ryan Cushing. With the multiple felony charges initially lodged against him for the attack, Cushing could have been sentenced to as many as 25 years in prison. He only got six months in jail and five years probation. Now before you go ballistic about the leniency and irresponsibility of our courts, you need to know that Ms. Ruvolo is the person responsible for the light sentence. She pressed the district attorney to temper justice with compassion- in the hope that Ryan won’t lose his adult years in prison because of his stupid, criminal behavior that night. After the sentence was pronounced, Ryan approached his victim to apologize. Ms. Ruvolo embraced him and tried to comfort him while he sobbed his remorse.”

Rubel closes his articles by saying maybe we all need to be reminded of the mercy we have all received from God. These situations make me think of how I handle times where I feel I have been “mistreated.” Am I showing mercy, compassion and love, or does Satan win the battle? Last week I didn’t always win the battles that came my way. But this week is a new week and I pray that I can do better. How are you doing? Are you showing compassion to someone that does not deserve it?
May God fill you with love, compassion and mercy for those that mistreat you.

-Dick