Tonight, Alamo Heights was visited by one of the biggest influences in my life. Rachel's Challenge. This is what I took from my experience.
Rachel Scott was murdered on April 20, 1999 in the tragic Columbine shootings.
From an Early age, Rachel knew that she would die young. She discussed her early death as a fact, and wrote about it in her diary. She took this premonition that she had and channeled it into goodness and compassion, which she expressed to every person she knew at her high school. With a reputation for being an exceptional person, she was known for comforting the hurt and welcoming the outsiders. Many remember her as a person that had protected them, loved them and shown them how to be a good person.
While everyone that was killed in the Columbine shootings will be remembered for their legacies left behind, Rachel has had a significant impact on millions of people. I could tell by the tone in her family and friend's voices that Rachel's story was not an embellished eulogy. She was a genuine and compassionate person that preached "starting a chain reaction," and building up the people that have been put down. In short, Rachel represented the ideal friend, daughter and Christian.
One of the most influential parts of the presentation was a story that was told about a man from Ohio. A few weeks after the shooting, Rachel's father received a strange phone call from a man in Ohio. He had never met Rachel or her family, and warned her father that his message may seem a bit crazy. He had explained a reoccurring dream that he had been having for many nights. In his dream, he described seeing Rachel's eyes, crying tears that had fallen to the ground. From these fallen tears, re-growth and re-birth had begun.
Rachel's father took the man's name and number and expected to never hear from him again. A few days later, Mr. Scott got a call from the police department and was asked to come pick up Rachel's backpack, which had been taken as evidence. Mr. Scott picked up the backpack and immediately began to look through the items. At the bottom of the backpack, he found Rachel's diary.
Mr. Scott, curious to read the last things his daughter had written about, was shocked at what he saw. The hole on the right hand side was created by the bullet that killed her.
On the last page, this was drawn.
Rachel had drawn that picture the same day of the shooting, as on of her teachers recalls her drawing it during her class. Her father was overcome with emotion and immediately called the man who had the same dream about tears and rebirth.
In Rachel's drawing, 13 tears are drawn.
13 people died in the Columbine shootings that day.
Rachel had no knowledge of the shooting when she drew the picture. It hadn't happened yet. If that isn't evidence of God speaking through her, I don't know what is.
Through Rachel's blood and tears, rebirth has begun, much like it has in my own life. Like Rachel, I challenge each and every one of you to step up and act as Rachel did.
These are her ideals.
I encourage all of you to visit the website and experience Rachel's legacy for yourself.
That's it for now, I love all of you!
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