Difficult times for people of the Pittsburgh area

The loss of the three police officers this past Saturday in the City of Pittsburgh has cast a pall of gloom over the entire area. The loss of any human life is tragic but we are all the more affected when that loss comes to a group that dedicates their lives to protecting and serving the public. The senseless way these young men were murdered has shocked us all and reminded that there truly is good and evil in the world that we live in.

At one time I was a member of the Oakmont Auxiliary Police who supplement the regular officers mostly for traffic control at fires and accident scenes. I became friends with a number of the officers on the force at that time and managed to get a small peek into their world from the outside looking in. While never having been a part of their community I can tell you that all of the reports you are hearing in the media about them being "family" and part of a "brotherhood" are truer than you might imagine. There is a common bond among them that outsiders usually can't perceive or understand. I can also tell you that officers from the surrounding areas are feeling the pain of the loss just as those in the city who worked with these men on a daily basis.

I did not know any of the slain officers personally, my best friend however has several relatives that are on the police force in Pittsburgh. One of them and her partner who had just gone off duty responded to the call and the two of them were on the scene moments after the three offices were shot. It is only by the grace of God and "street smarts" in the way they approached the scene that they were not the next to be gunned down.

At this point in time I can only offer prayers that God will comfort the family and friends of these three men. I can't begin to imagine the pain caused by their loss to their wives and children and extended families.

Despite a great internal struggle I will also pray for the man who perpetrated these heinous crimes. I heard a number of friends and family make comments that the shooter should be gunned down by any means possible and left to die.

I have to admit that watching and listening to these events unfold on Saturday I had the same impulses in my head while my heart told me that our Savior Jesus Christ would not approve of the sentiments going through my mind at the time.

So let us take time to mourn the fallen and pray for their loved ones and do what we can to see that our fellow men and women do not stray down that path of evil that leads them to bring so much sorrow to their fellow human beings.