I have been having a rough week. There have been two verses that keep coming to mind:
Matthew 2:18 "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
Revelation 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
The tragedy in Newtown, CT hit me pretty hard. First, I have a child and younger nieces/nephews and couldn't imagine them in that circumstance. Second, I work with youth at our church that I care about. Third, I thought of all the campers I spent time with this past summer. I even started thinking about how I would react if something like this happened at a school, church or even at camp while I was there. What would I do? Would I be able to do anything?
I have no answers.
What I know and what I believe is that last Friday more angels were added to the ranks. There have been so many posts on FaceBook about the children, the teachers, the school and the community and the ones that hit me are the ones dealing with those young angels and the guardian angels in the school.
As we prepare for Christmas and the silence of Christmas Eve and the promise that brings please pray for those angels and the safety of all children no matter where they are - school, playground or even their home. Make sure to hold your loved ones (and maybe not so loved ones) tight as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. There is good in this world - even in the midst of tragedy and I will be looking for that as the New Year begins.
Merry Christmas, Peace and Blessings to you all!
Carolyn, none of us have the answer. As you say, there is good in this world and I, too, will look for more of it as we move into the new year.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you've all seen many responses to the tragedy last week. This one was especially meaningful to me. It reminds me of the description in the book The Shack when the father of the slain little girl meets Jesus and gets a peak at what his little girl is experiencing in Heaven. May we all be comforted in knowing what awaits us.
Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air...
they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
they were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
"where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"this is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's house."
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"come now my children, let me show you around."
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."
Amen