Osama Bin Laden

“I’ve never wished a man dead. But, I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” – Mark Twain

I'm still not really sure how I feel about the death of Bin Laden.  I for sure do not feel like taking to the streets in celebration. Watching Americans celebrate and cheer last night after the news was announced made me sick to my stomach.  I think that just coming from the recent loss of my Grandmother, I am looking at this from a different perspective than most.

Bin Laden was a horrible, wicked, evil man who for sure deserved death for the crimes that he committed.  However, to rejoice in any death gives me pause.  I am sure that he was loved by someone, somewhere, and for me to gloat and cheer in the face of that tragedy just does not seem even human.

I am a firm believer that sin is sin no matter what kind it is.  God views each transgression against him the same.  Bin Laden's life was riddled with sins against God.  Because of that I feel confident that he went straight from that palace directly into the pits of Hell.  I think that it is important to remember though that but for the grace of God, when I die I would be headed there as well.

How can I rejoice in his suffering when I know that I myself deserve the same punishment that he is receiving? Christ died for Bin Laden's sins just as much as he died for mine.  The difference is that I chose to receive the gift.  That is where I find the only rejoicing in this situation.

By the way, feel free to disagree with me.  I am not an expert on anything...it is just my opinion!

Catching Frogs

My boys are all boy. They tend to catch all things slimy, scaly, furry, and wiggly. I usually tolerate it very well (except for chickens and snakes) and allow them to experiment to their heart's delight. My only rule is that they do not kill anything that can not harm them. My boys know that while we may play with all types of creatures and may accidentally love some of them to death, we never purposely harm an animal just for the sake of harming.
Today was my work outside the home day and when I got to the sitter's house to pick up the boys, Noah was upset. I could tell he was trying not to cry but he did not want to talk about what was wrong. It took a while before he finally opened up to me.

Me: Noah, can you tell me what is wrong?
Noah: (Sniff) Well, I was trying to catch a frog.
Me: (Thinking that maybe babysitter Aunt Dea is not as tolerant of creepy crawlies as I am.) Did Aunt Dea tell you that you had to stop?
Noah: No 'Mam.
Me: Then what happened? Could you not catch him?
Noah: (Sniff Sniff) No 'Mam, he wasn't fast enough.
Me: (very confused now) What? Don't you mean that you were not fast enough?
Noah: (crying now) No Momma! He was not fast enough!
Me: Noah, I am trying to understand. Tell me again what happened.
Noah: Well, I was trying to catch a frog and he was not fast enough....and he did not move out of the way when I was chasing him, and my big foot squashed his guts out!
Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Noah: (thoroughly insulted) MOMMA!!!

Yes I am that mother that laughs at her child's distress. It was so far from what I was thinking that I could not help but to laugh. After a while Noah thought that it was pretty funny too and we both got a good laugh. Admit it...you laughed too.