All I can think of is YEEEHAAA!!!! GOD ANSWERS PRAYER!Isn't it wonderful that baby Kahu is home - alive and well with her parents. Like a lot of you, I stayed up on Sunday night hanging out for the news item about her safe return. St James Church rang out their Church bells at 11pm in response to the wonderful news. We prayed and God answered these prayers with the safe return of Kahu.
For Kate Alkema and her family the prayers cannot be answered in such a way. But even in the dark times and in times that seem impossible, God always responds to our prayers. God is a God of love - a God who wants the best for his children but God also allows us free choice. That free choice sometimes has the consequences that we all saw in the news items last week. God doesn't plan for a beautiful women to be brutally murdered on the banks of the Hutt River, God doesn't plan for children to be abducted from their families. But these things do happen - and for the majority of us we are left in a state of shock and despair at what is happening to our world.
But God cares - God cares for the victims - God cares for the families and friends and God also cares for the perpetrators and their families.
In the midst of this God has a way of taking awful things and having good
things come from them. The public witness to God's glory that came from Eddie Durrie's
witness on TV was fantastic. And I have heard of at least one person on hearing this has
restored their relationship with Jesus. Praise God. The very public walk along the river
last Sunday was a very positive undertaking to reclaim the space for everyone to use
again. Donna's words of wisdom to a young 13 year old girl who made the hoax call to the
police were inspiring. I found the response from all these people to be positive and life
giving, not screaming for revenge, - and it is extremely refreshing.So Praise God for answered prayer, and thank God for the first class police work that has been undertaken here in record time. And thank God - that his never-ending supply of love has flowed out into and through these people, through the media and out to all of us.
Rev Heather Macdonald
[St Philips Anglican Church]