Visiting Columbine High School 20 Years Later (VIDEO)

It’s been 20 years since the Columbine High School massacre that rocked the world.

In 1999, seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, stormed the school grounds and brutally gunned down 12 students and one teacher, and injured 21 other people. The duo, who had planned the mass murder and recorded their thoughts on tape weeks prior, later killed themselves in the school library.

Two of the students (there were more), Rachel Joy Scott and Cassie Bernal, were Christians. Their stories inspired two songs from singers Rebecca St. James (her brothers are Joel and Luke of For King and Country) and Michael W. Smith; “Yes, I Believe In God” and “This Was Her Time.”

Yes, I Believe in God – Rebecca St. James

This Was Her Time – Michael W. Smith

I was in elementary school at the time during the Columbine High School shooting. I couldn’t believe that this, this terrible, atrocious act, was happening.

Then, my dad bought me the book, Rachel’s Tears, about Rachel and her diary writings. She was questioned by the killers about her belief in Jesus, and was killed because she wouldn’t deny him. And in her diary, she actually, unknowingly, predicted her death, and the outcome of the massacre.

Nearly 20 years since the massacre, I visited the memorial at Columbine. I had to pause for a moment. It took me back to my childhood, and I can’t actually describe the feeling I felt. I couldn’t speak. I was in another world.

I encourage you all to make a visit. If you were old enough to remember anything, you’ll immediately be taken back to that time, and somehow, feel as if you were there. If you weren’t, you’ll be overwhelmed with emotion, and want to learn everything about that tragedy.

Friends, what if you were “faced with the choice to deny God and live?” What would you have done?

Lastly, if you haven’t seen the movie about Rachel’s life based on her book, I encourage you to watch it. Check out the trailer below.