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1 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Beach bacteria thresholds may tighten ... Our View: Who politicized the UCC shootings? Not Obama ... View from 100,000 feet ... Beach bacteria thresholds may tighten ... Our View: Who politicized the UCC shootings? Not Obama ... View from 100,000 feet ... GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: Overcoming evil with good Comment By Dan Jocoy MailTribune.com By Dan Jocoy Posted Oct. 10, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Oct 10, 2015 at 11:01 AM By Dan Jocoy Posted Oct. 10, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Oct 10, 2015 at 11:01 AM » Social News I read an account of a man who lived around 300 AD and experienced some sort of tragedy that left him wondering if he could go on living with such a horrendous memory locked in his head. In spite of the battle, he somehow continued on. Over time, he grew in ways and accomplished things he could have only imagined. For those of us not at Umpqua Community College last Thursday, it was a day of complete and utter shock. As I moved through South Umpqua High School (located in Myrtle Creek) during lunchtime, students had their phones in their hands inquiring of friends and family. Anxiety was high. Information was sketchy. Students were visibly stunned. Some staff and students were requesting prayer. All were managing the best they could under the circumstances Thursday’s numbing gave way to Friday’s grief. With wisdom beyond the normal pale, South Umpqua High leaders decided to go ahead with the scheduled homecoming game minus the festivities. They instead planned releasing hundreds of green and white balloons (UCC colors) at halftime on the field. Together with the entire Brookings football team (which was taking quite a spanking), all the fans on campus crowded together hand in hand, released the balloons, read the names of the victims and then prayed. It appeared to mark the first small turning point on campus. Good was beginning to overcome evil. That is my theme now. Good must overcome evil. And it will, just as love overcomes hatred and fear and the goodness of God overcomes the evil of the enemy. I hope you never ever see or hear what our dear friends at UCC did. Post-traumatic stress disorder impacts any whose senses are totally overwhelmed by events that push them way past the margins of normal or safe. Such moments of terror lessen resiliency to get back to normal within the battlefield of the mind. Folks dealing with PTSD desperately desire the bad thoughts to be erased. That is a noble desire, yet not always obtained. Instead, we see some people who find courage by designating such traumatic episodes as places where good begins to overcome evil. We have witnessed people who, in time, use the most agonizing of situations as fuel to propel them to go, do, say and accomplish things otherwise not even thought of. The way we are hard-wired, the painful memory never totally goes away. Such was the case for the man I spoke of above. Eventually, his prayers changed from “take this away from me” to “let me use this pain that had almost defeated me to lift others up.” Like a forming scar, the memory or hurt is present but may be softened over time by using evil as a motivation to do good, as much and as often as possible. God bless our entire community to overcome this dark episode of evil with the radiant light of goodness. Dan Jocoy serves as a pastor with Tri City Church of Christ. He can be reached at [email protected]. By Dan Jocoy MailTribune.com By Dan Jocoy Posted Oct. 10, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Oct 10, 2015 at 11:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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