A Message of Hope

On April 20, 1999 our country witnessed the deadliest school shooting in our history, The Columbine High School Massacre.  The residents of Columbine, Colorado lives were forever changed.  A total of twelve students and one teacher was ruthlessly shot and killed by two disturbed individuals while many others were injured.  Among the injured survivors was Patrick Ireland.  Patrick Ireland was shot twice in the head and once in the leg.  As he laid there injured on the floor in the classroom, for three hours, he mustered whatever strength he could and climbed out the window of the second floor building where luckily the swat team was there to catch him as he fell through the window.

Fifteen years later and Patrick is thriving and doing well.  He’s married and has a family.  When asked how he dealt with it he responded that he refused to feed into the negativity and wanted to simply move on with his life.   Shortly after graduating from high school Patrick went on to finish college and graduated with a 3.9 GPA.  Might I add, Patrick still has the bullet lodged in his brain and is encapsulated by scar tissue.

I share this story as a message of hope and encouragement.  No matter what you’ve been through you can still come out of that circumstance or situation a champion.  Being defeated should never be an option.  You may have challenges during the journey (ups and downs—LIFE), but if you stay encouraged, hopeful, and do exactly what Patrick said “don’t feed the negativity,” you too can win.

Be encouraged by your trials and tribulations, not defeated by them!