Home | Taneshia Butler | Karsheika Graves | Memorial Service
Memorial Fund | Condolences | Messages | Resources
Earth Has No Sorrow That Heaven Cannot Heal!
First giving obedience to God, good evening. To the families, loved ones and friends of Taneshia and Karsheika, and Latina, to Dr. McDaniel, the faculty and the students of the Louisiana Technical College and to my community, I come this evening with a heavy heart as humbly as I know how to bring condolences from the Louisiana Legislature, but more importantly, I come as a mother whose heart aches and grieves for you and with you.
You know, Friday as I rushed to this campus, I knew that it would be a day that would forever change our community, and while I do not minimize any senseless death of any of our young people, Friday was quite different for Baton Rouge and especially for our community, because never before have we lost three young women in such a horrific way.
I was born in this community just four streets away, and in my lifetime and most probably in yours, we have never seen nor heard of anything quite as terrible as this, the deaths of three beautiful young women, two of them, young mothers trying to make better for themselves and for their children by getting their educations.
When I arrived at this campus last Friday, I knew it would become one of the most troubling days of my life because of the deaths of these three young women. I asked myself over and over again “Why?” And I know that each of you must be asking yourselves that same question too. Yet, we may never know why.
But there is someone we can turn to. He is all knowing. He is omnipotent. He is known as the Prince of Peace. His name is Jesus and I ask each of you gathered here this evening to turn to Him, for only He can mend your broken hearts. In your darkest moments, when the pain becomes unbearable, turn to God.
And to the parents – although I can never imagine what you are going through, in the wee, wee hours of Saturday morning, I woke up from what I hoped was a terrible nightmare, that these young ladies were not gone, but instantly I realized that they were gone on to glory to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So as I laid in bed, in the silence and darkness of the night, with tears running from my eyes, I prayed for you – especially for the mothers, because somehow I believed that at that exact moment, each of you work up too, believing the whole thing was just a bad dream, a nightmare, and when you woke up it would be all right. But it wasn’t all right! And I know that you may not believe it now, but it will be all right again!
So I stopped by this evening to tell you that Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal! Because God is still on the throne, for he said in his word, “I will not never leave you nor forsake you!” These senseless deaths should serve as a wake-up call to our community, to our young and old, rich and poor, black and white, male and female, that all life is precious! And we must do everything is our power to protect it.
Let us not let the deaths of these young women be in vain. Let’s honor their lives by turning a negative into a positive. We must return to the days of old, when we cared about each other and looked out for one another. You know it used to be like that, right here on Acadian Thruway, and in Istrouma, Fairfield, Easy Town, The Park and all the surrounding neighborhoods. Wake up Baton Rouge!
And you know that word of God tells us how. Ephesians 4:31 and 32 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you.” Wake up Baton Rouge! Let’s start to love and respect one another again and more importantly, let’s begin to pray for one another again. Wake up Baton Rouge!
My dear God, please wake us up from our long deep sleep. My precious Lord, please touch these families and loved ones like only you can, heal their broken hearts, renew their spirits and let them know that Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.
You know, the God I serve is not a God of chaos, but when chaos comes, He is the only one who can bring calm, for He said in his word, “Be still and know that I am God.” Do you know Him this evening? I know Him. He is our strength in times of despair. He is our shelter in times of storm, for He is the same God, who commanded the waters of the stormy sea and demanded the waters, “Peace be still!” Because of his grace and mercy, your loved ones are now dwelling in his mansion, free from all hurt, harm and danger.
So I say to you, turn to Him. He will hold you close in his bosom when your pain is unbearable. Turn to Him when you feel that you can’t go on. Turn to Him when your tears won’t stop falling. Turn to Him. He will wipe all your tears away. He is the Prince of Peace. He is the only answer. He is the ultimate comforter!