Rachel's Tears, by Beth Nimmo and Darrell Scott, is a journey into the life of their daughter, Rachel Joy Scott.
Rachel Scott was a student at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
She always was one to befriend the underdog and encourage the un-encouraged. Rachel was on a mission to touch lives and change the world.
Unfortunately, Rachel's life was cut short by two disturbed students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
On April 20, 1999, Rachel and 12 others were murdered in the halls of Columbine.
Although in life Rachel never knew she accomplished her mission, after her death she touched the lives of many and still is changing the world to this very day.
Rachel's parents used personal family experiences and Rachel's own journal entries to help in the creation of Rachel's Tears.
Beth and Darrell write many times that Rachel was not one to cause trouble or need much discipline.
Rachel was a middle child with two older sisters and two younger brothers.
They said she acted as a referee in many of the fights between the other siblings, not taking sides, but trying to find ways to fix the argument so that everyone was happy. That was just how Rachel was; she would put others before herself.
In a journal entry dated May 4, 1998, Rachel writes to her cousin Jeff, asking him, "… If you had to make a list of the top 5 things most important to you, what would you put?
"Here's mine: God, Family, Friends, My future, Myself…".
That is just one example Beth and Darrell put in the book to describe their loving daughter, Rachel.
On April 20, 1999, Beth and Darrell received news that the school two of their children attended was under attack by two troubled teens with multiple guns and bombs.
Craig, their oldest son who went to Columbine, made it out safely but was an emotional wreck.
At 11:30 the next morning, the family received word that Rachel was among the 13 who had been killed.
As hard as it was to bury their own daughter, Beth and Darrell realized that Rachel's death was a blessing in disguise.
But they would not realize it until, a few months after the tragedy, they received the backpack she was wearing when she was murdered. It was being held for evidence at the police department.
As Rachel's parents went through the backpack, they noticed her journal and decided to read a few entries their daughter had written before her death.
Rachel writes, "May 2, This will be my last year, Lord. I have gotten what I can. Thank you," and also, "Just passing by, just coming thru, Not staying long I always knew, This home I have will never last."
As Beth and Darrel read it, a sense of peace came over them. They realized that Rachel always had a sense that she would not live long.
Rachel now would live on in the hearts of many who looked up to her as a Christian role model.
She would live through her many journals and through Rachel's Tears.
The Columbine school shooting was labeled the worst school shooting ever in America.
The tragedy was all over the news and in every newspaper in America. Magazines such as Time even wrote extensive stories about the horrific event.
They focused on death, violence and the two gunmen.
But everyone knew the story of Rachel Joy Scott.
In fact, CNN, which televised her funeral service uninterrupted, logged its largest viewing audience of any broadcast shown.
After Rachel's funeral, her mother created a Web site dedicated to Rachel. It was one of the most viewed Web sites in 1999 and 2000.
Rachel's Tears has sold many copies and has reached and touched the lives of thousands of people all over the world. Beth and Darrell stated in the book that this was "the book we didn't want to write," but both agreed that Rachel has a powerful message that survives her tragic death and needs to be heard by everyone.
I agree that Rachel's message needs to be heard by everyone and needs to be a guide to the many young Christians who want to know how to live a faith-filled life and how to walk with the Lord.
No matter what Rachel was - student, daughter, sister, referee, inspirer, hero or a blessing - she was a young Christian living her life for God.
She was a World Changer.
For an assignment in one her classes at Columbine, Rachel wrote a paper titled, "My Ethics, My Codes of Life."
It is a virtual catalog of the core values she held most dear: trust, honesty, compassion, love and the desire to believe the best in people.
She concluded her paper by saying, "My codes may seem like a fantasy that can never be reached, but test them for yourself, and see the kind of effect they have in the lives of people around you. You just may start a chain reaction."
At Rachel's funeral, her pastor, Bruce Porter, spoke of "a bloodstained torch that has fallen from Rachel's hand."
He challenged everyone to take up Rachel's torch.
Now, I am challenging you to pick up Rachel's torch and take on "Her Ethics, Her Codes of Life" as if they were your own.
By reading this book, I am now doing the same and pray that you will read Rachel's Tears and take on her ethics and her codes.
Make them real in your life and not just a fantasy.
Be a World Changer. You may just start a chain reaction.
Be the first to comment on this article!