I got up this morning worried about running behind on Christmas projects, aggravated at whomever decided the school break shouldn't officially begin until Christmas Eve, so that regular, ol' hecticity is interfering with my Christmas joy, and a little frustrated at the condition of our home.
Then, in the midst of researching gifts I still need to buy and make, the email message came in from our local news station.
27 dead in an elementary school in Connecticut, 18 of them children.
There are parents who went to pick up their child, but he or she never came out of the building. And there are those who lost a spouse, a daddy or mommy, and a grown son or daughter. So much sadness.
And there are those who loved the shooter and are now aghast, devastated, and maybe feeling helpless and guilty for not seeing, not knowing, not helping. Such awfulness in this tragedy for so many.
There are huge questions:
- How does one get to the point where they can not only plan such a move, but can actually look a 5-year-old angel in the face and shoot him or her... and then do it 17 more times?!!!
- HOW is there ANY comfort for those who lost a child to such a senseless act? I trust God to provide their needs, but dissolve into tears just imagining the despair they must be feeling, and will for years to come.
Some of my kids are here where I can see them, and there are no shots ringing out at my kids' and husband's schools... They're all healthy, robust, and happy. I can hold them close, unlike those who only wish they could, "Just one more time." My problems and aggravations immediately became ridiculous and microscopically small. --In the blink of an eye.
Thank you, Lord, for the safety those who did make it out, and the relief for those parents who were blessed to see their child run out of the school into their arms. Please hold tight to those, though, who feel so much loss and let them know You're with them each and every minute, and are welcoming their little angels into Your arms. So much more that our hearts cry out, in not understanding things like this, that only You can know and decipher. Thank you for the safety of my family and loved ones.
In Jesus' precious name, Amen.
