Before my exam last Friday, I didn't want to check my email or go online because I didn't want to get distracted. I had many text messages but I didn't want them to distract me either. When I finished my exam I had received eleven messages but decided not to read them until I wrote Friday's post. When I finally checked my messages and turned on the TV I realized that while I was off in my own little world, a horrific tragedy was taking place just an hour and a half away from where I was. From the moment I turned the news on until just a little while ago, I have been watching everything unfold.
For this one weekend, this country and other countries tuned in to share in the hurt and sorrow that came with the death of twenty beautiful children and six wonderful adult women. The President came to visit to offer his condolences to all of the families that lost someone. Temporarily I am sure that, that was comforting to learn that the President cares about your loss. Even the Queen of England called to offer her condolences. Millions of people have posted on line how sorry they are for the families. I have read and liked many different posts but I haven't offered any written response because I don't want to just say that I am sorry. Hearing that everyone is sorry for you is not always comforting, especially hearing it over and over and over. I have spoken on what to say to someone when they are grieving in a previous post and some of that can be applied to the families that have been left broken.
Over the weekend the names and faces of the Children and the women that were killed, were released to the public. There are foundations already up and running in memory of the children. I sat staring at the pictures of five, six, seven, eight and nine year olds, seeing their happy little faces. You can see such brightness and light in all of the kids pictures. When I realized that those lives were taken, and that the light of their faces was gone, I grew angry and heartbroken at the sight of them. I didn't know anyone that was killed but I felt the pain (or what I believe is the pain) of the families who, eleven days before Christmas just lost their child (the adults were someone's child too). I posted that I hated the world. At that moment in time, regardless of what anyone said, I did hate the world. I hated that I could live on this earth with someone who killed kindergarteners and teachers.
In re-thinking that, I realized that I can't hate the world because not all of the world did this. This was the work of Satan and now more then ever, we as Christians need to be teachers. Hearts are broken, lives have been lost, families have been torn apart, towns and schools are in fear of this happening again. The feeling of safety has been shaken and damage has been done to every single child who saw someone else get shot that terrible day. Nothing that anyone else can say to those families and the children, husbands, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers will comfort them right now. Saying that things will get better or that we are sorry does not provide healing but puts them farther away from being comforted.
I cannot sit here where I am knowing that many of those people might be missing the one thing that can help them heal. That one thing is a relationship with the Lord. God is our eternal comforter and right now all of those people effected by this terrible tragedy need to know that He is the healer and that He is the one that will keep us safe if we let Him. This is the time where we share the message with every bit of strength that we have because right now people desperatley need somewhere to turn and if we don't at least show them the way of the Lord then we fail our job as disciples.
If words fail to come to you when you want to share the message try this verse (with a little explanation):
"If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living." Romans 14:8-9
While we are all here dealing with the aftermath of this evil, twenty little angels and six bigger angels are dancing in heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They are eternally safe from any further harm that Satan may have wanted to inflict on their lives. While we pray for those children, we also need to focus on the ones who were left behind. Many lives were taken but we have the chance to save many more in the midst of this sorrow. Both you and I need to get out there and share the one real piece of comfort that can be provided in all of this.
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