"Within a day of the shooting at Columbine High," writes Misty Bernall, mother of Cassie Bernall, "the story of Cassie's exchange with the boys who killed her was making headlines across the nation, and by the next day, people started calling her the 'martyr of Littleton.' At first I wasn't too sure what to make of it. Cassie is my daughter, I thought. You can't turn her into a Joan of Arc."
When Cassie's story hit the news, she became an instant Christian martyr, perhaps the first postmoderns could identify with. But her story is not one of religious ideals or even the history of a super saint. It is a story of redemption, pure and simple. The Cassie Bernall who confessed her belief in God at gunpoint is the same Cassie Bernall whose personal writings reflect hate, anger and murderous intentions just a few years prior to her death.
"To make Cassie into a saint would be all too easy," Misty writes, "especially since she isn't there to make any more mistakes."
She Said Yes tells the story of the tough love Cassie's parents endured and the all-too-human failings that made her human. If there is a moral to Cassie's story, it is that anyone can have what she had, or in other words, if she could do it, you can too.
Her story is ultimately the story of how Christ can change a life that may appear beyond repair. And her story could be a good way to tell the message of redemption to someone in your circle of influence. Consider passing along a copy of She Said Yes to someone you know who needs to hear that Christ can repair an out-of-control life.