Vegas

Vegas.

I’ve been thinking all day about families torn apart by a cowardly, senseless act—like, what could I possibly say? Where can I even start? Our world is so broken that something new and terrible happens while I am still processing the last new and terrible thing that happened. My heart is heavy daily now.

Vegas.

For some, it’s a once (or twice) in a lifetime destination—EVERYBODY wants to see Las Vegas at least once! And no wonder, it’s an out-of-world experience, an entire city that is built for no business and all play. For me, it’s a city I called home for almost 1/6th of my life.

I was born in Las Vegas. I took my first breath in the hot, dry desert air April 1986 just a few miles from the strip. My first home was in Las Vegas, my parents became parents in Las Vegas. We moved away while I was still an infant, but then we came back for two years as I was approaching middle school—a transitional time in my life—and I remember.

If I close my eyes, I can still see Mount Charleston, brown and ridged and capped with snow for part of the year. I can still feel the sand stinging my face during recess, and the ‘dust devils’ swirling in the open spaces between here and there. We frequented the strip—mostly to eat at the endless buffets or catch the street shows. I remember watching in awe as the dolphins leapt in the fountain in front of the Mirage, and the ads of the gorgeous famous ‘disappearing’ tigers. I can hear the cannon blast from the never-ending street pirate show in front of Treasure Island, and I remember marveling at the amazing feat of engineering that is Luxor. Inside, the sound of slot machines, cheesy 70’s style carpeting, loud laughing and bright lights. Those are my memories of Las Vegas. They are fun, and happy and magical.

Now, my heart hurts because this morning at 5am I woke up to the news that 40,000 people and their families will have much different memories from a city designed for fun. Over 400 people may have a visible or painful reminder of the terror that took place during what was supposed to be the weekend of their life. Over 50 sets of family and friends will remember the day they lost someone close to them suddenly and violently every time they see and vacation ad, every time they see a movie, and every time they hear a story about Las Vegas. It hurts my heart not only that this happened, but that something wonderful and beautiful and fun, another one of our beautiful, unique US cities, a place I once called ‘home’ has been tainted with fear and stained with blood.

Every day it looks as though there is no hope, because how can we cure fear and pain that breeds hatred and violence that just leads to more pain and more fear? We can’t. Our hope is found only in the one who has already defeated fear and pain and even death. My hope is in you, Lord.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Ephesians 3:17-19 “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of His love, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.