PrintFebruary 27, 2011
Another Bum Steer Award for Lubbock
Lubbock City and County leaders were singled out for a Texas Monthly Magazine "Bum Steer" award in December of 2008 for calling on the public to pray for rain after months of drought and wildfires.
Go ahead, Texas Monthly, make us Lubbockites look like ignorant rednecks. But we know Who the ultimate source of blessing is. Lubbock is a farming community. No rain, no livelihood. Hence, we're never too proud to fall to our knees and ask the good Lord above to bless us with rain. I think it's time we collectively fall on our knees and talk to God about something else, though. Terrorists.
Besides cotton, Lubbock is known for Buddy Holly, dust storms, and Red Raiders. After Thursday though, we are now known for having a would-be terrorist in our own backyard. According to the Justice Department, Khalid Ali Aldawsari, a college student from Saudi Arabia, was caught in Lubbock purchasing explosive chemicals over the Internet as part of a plan to hide bomb materials inside dolls and baby carriages to blow up dams, nuclear plants, or the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush.
Many Lubbockites expressed shock and surprise that a terrorist would surface in a place like Lubbock. I have to admit I wasn't surprised. When you read reports from people like Avi Lipkin or Pamela Geller, you unfortunately learn how deep seated radical Islamists are in America. There was another voice too, who recently passed away, from Lubbock, who began speaking loud and clear about the dangers of Islam decades ago. Her name was Ginger Burnside.
Around the age of 60 Ginger decided it would be a fine time to become a missionary. She traveled to over 20 nations teaching how to have a relationship with God and how to hear His voice. Practicing what she preached, she rarely prayed without pen and paper in hand. She actually expected to get directions from God regarding where she needed to go and what she needed to do. These instructions led her into nations such as Korea, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Cypress, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Serbia, and Israel. Often, in these nations, she would end up talking to heads of state. For instance during the Lebanon war, (she was one of a handful of Americans there on a press visa) she was escorted into the bunker of General Michel Aoun, the acting Prime Minister and commander of the army of Lebanon, to tell him what she felt God was saying about Lebanon.
My husband and I had the privilege of traveling overseas with Ginger for a few months plus we often heard her speak in Lubbock. Every time I heard her speak, she said the same thing, "Pray that the sword of Islam will be broken." This was back in the late ‘80's and early ‘90's mind you. Those of us in the audience would dutifully write in our notes, "Pray. Sword of Islam. Broken." and shake our heads like we knew exactly what she was talking about. In truth, we were clueless, like many Americans were until the fateful day of 9/11. And unfortunately many Americans remain clueless even after that. Sure Islamist terrorists had been wreaking havoc in Israel for decades, and against U.S. military targets overseas, but that never fully got our attention. After all, what did that really have to do with us?
I began to grow up mentally and politically, though, and thanks to Ginger, in a large part, became an avid student of the history of conflict in the Middle East and an avid supporter of Israel. And quickly, I begin to learn why Ginger felt so passionately about urging people to pray that the sword of Islam would be broken. It was a very big, dangerous, relentless sword, methodically expanding its path of destruction with America, Jews, and Christians in its sites.
Fast forward to 2011 and thankfully the sword was caught in Lubbock before damage could be done. I hear the media, just as it said with the shoe bomber and the Christmas bomber, say just how lucky we are that Khalid Ali Aldawsari was caught. And I shake my head and think, "No it wasn't luck, it was grace of God." With would-be terrorists planted all over America, it's not luck that will save us. As Ginger said, it's prayer.
That's why it's time for another Bum Steer award Lubbock. It's time to pray. Hard. As I said, luck won't save us. Our government sure as heck won't save us. It's up to us to pray. Not to take away from the actions of the shipping companies who alerted the FBI and the Lubbock Police Department and our military. I wholeheartedly support and thank those who are doing the groundwork and legwork to keep terrorists at bay. But I firmly believe that the actions of man can do little to save us against an army of terror, if Americans don't back up the groundwork and legwork with prayer.
A terrorist was in the Bible Belt's backyard for a reason. America is experiencing wake-up call after wake-up call. Yet the giant continues to sleep, or worse yet, to momentarily wake-up and snuggle even closer to the enemy Obama and the multi-culturists seem to enjoy sleeping with. But Lubbock, I know you better than that. You'll see beyond the physical realm. You'll see what Ginger meant all along. This is a fight. And the place it will truly be won is on our knees.
