‎One of the best things about my life is the variety of people in it. I am reminded each and every day that not everyone thinks, feels and believes as I do.  This became very apparent this morning as I read my Facebook Newsfeed. Everyone had something to say about the death of Osama Bin Laden:  

• I feel like waking up all my neighbors and dancing in the street! Good riddance!
• One friend posted a prayer “Lord, Bless My Enemies” A Prayer of St. Nikolai of Ochrid, which begins “Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.”
• Bin Laden ‘now’ believes in Jesus.
• I have mixed feelings about celebrating hearing that someone is dead.
• Thank you to all who spent the past 10 years hunting down the sub human who commanded the 9-11 slaughter of American civilians. His penance was a decade of living in fear, and I am glad we will not spend one minute more dealing with him. Justice has been served. God Bless America, God Bless our Troops and those who are still healing. May we one day feel safe again.
• Guess who is getting picked first for the next game of team hide and seek in hell?
• RIH Osama Bin Laden
• Ding dong, Bin Laden’s dead! (This one was repeated by a number of people.)
• OK, so Bin Laden is dead. Here’s my thought on the subject: Pray for him. Matthew 5: 44 “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”
• “The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance” Ps. 58:10
• How them virgins lookin now bin laden?
• One friend quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction…….The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.” –Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
• Congratulations and thank you to the brave soldiers who were ready and willing.
• When I got off the subway that day the streets were already full of people heading away from it. I walked with strangers to 3 different hospitals to give blood but they didn’t have injured, didn’t need it. My sister had a friend who was killed. A couple of months later, I returned to active duty. That was not a good day. Today, a very very good day.

It is abundantly clear that everyone has strong feelings on the subject and it is a strong-feeling kind of event. Different parts of me agree with different friends. I am so glad that our country can have some sort of closure–I still feel like falling to the ground sobbing when I remember 9/11/01–but, at the same time, feeling hatred and revenge–and celebrating a death–seems somehow wrong to me. I don’t know.

Do you know?

To read about the death of a Christian Pakistani in retaliation CLICK HERECLICK HERE to read how Christians in Nigeria and Pakistan are worriedHow should Christians react to bin Laden’s death? CLICK HERE to read several thoughtsTo watch the video of the President’s statement, CLICK HEREREAD HERE as Beliefnet’s Jim Fletcher asks if all Muslims are evilTo consider the heart-felt thoughts of Debbie Lee, mom of the first Navy SEAL killed in Iraq, CLICK HERECLICK HERE to read bestselling author Linda Howard’s reactionCLICK HERE to watch the reaction of New Yorkers at Ground ZeroCLICK HERE for photos and the text of the President’s statementTo read the reaction of Beliefnet’s Ryan Gaffney CLICK HERECLICK HERE to read Beliefnet writer Donna Calvin’s reaction