Facts and Events

In a country on the Southern tip of Africa there was a strike. People wanted more money. They decided to stay away from work in an attempt to force the government of that country to pay them what they demanded. During that time there were still people who, despite threats continued to work, believing that through staying away it may cause more harm than good.
There was one such a lady. She went to work everyday, despite the threats. But the strikers got angry. One day after work, on her way home she was attacked. The strikers hit her, broke her neck, broke her life...
These were the events that led to this contemplation.

There are a few events that lead to the attack. There was a strike. A few workers continued working. Then there were the events leading to the attack and the actual attack.
Could these have been prevented. We will always be able to see opportunities for possible prevention of events when we look at life retrospectively.

Through this story we also come in contact with many facts. Money makes the world go round. People are cruel. People kill. People hate others.
No matter how long we stare at these written facts, we can't change them.

A fact is defined as: something known to be true, a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that occurred.
When looking at the definition there is a finality surrounding it. It cannot be changed by circumstances, feelings, relationships.
We have to stare the facts in the eye - and we can only stare, because we can't change a fact.
Facts can make us feel helpless, hopeless, frustrated, but on the other hand there are also facts that can serve as anchors and guidance in times of uncertainty.

Then there are events. Things that happen in life - good or bad. Knowing that we can't change facts, we as humans attempt to take control over the events in our lives. We make choices in the faith that those will guide the course of our lives into a direction that will favour this one life of ours on earth, into a accumulation of positive events.
Our environments get policed, events legalised, others banned to mould the events surrounding us into a governable environment.

Once an event has occurred, it becomes a fact, or as we like to refer to it: history. We try to prevent events - which we can control, to a certain extent, from becoming a chaotic accumulation of facts or history. And yes, we are successful at it, to some extent. But where we fail people can get hurt, they can even die.

As humans we can't change facts, only prevent certain events.

As I was sifting through all the events surrounding us, turning into facts and history through the arms of time I realised: that is why Jesus came. He came to change facts, that which is humanly not possible. By dying, mutilated on a cross, He walked through the gates of death to change all the known facts about humankind.
By conquering death he turned the cruelty of humankind into kindness, hatred into life, killers into life preservers.
He gave us hope, our only hope... Those who accept him, know him will see the facts written over their lives, the things that they thought nobody would ever be able to change, all changed in an instant.

Only He can change the facts of time.