Sadness, Questions and Hope: A Response to the Tragedy of Sandy Hook

Photo Credit: Associated Press 

The Pain of Tragedy

Sitting around the TV watching the news yesterday was a painful experience. We felt the fear, the panic, the immense sadness of tragedy. Children died. Men and women died. This brought tears and sadness and questions.

We Ask Why

No one person, or government, or doctor, has all the answers to why someone would walk into a school and kill 26 people, most of whom where children between the ages of 5 and 10.

The pain and torment the shooter must have been in to perpetrate such a horribly evil act must have been unbearable. The pain mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are feeling right now as the reality sets in their child or sibling is dead will seem suffocating. The community of Newtown, Connecticut, will never be the same. As a nation, our response will be because of the pain and shock we feel right now. We will cry, we will mourn, we will call out for more gun control, we will focus on anything but the real problem: we live in a broken world.

We live here on this earth for a short time. Then we die. The loss of children though, is our worst nightmare, because in them we see the innocence we have lost and hope for a future. When they are cut off we feel our own fragility more acutely.  

I do not have the answers to the why's being asked right now, but I have some hope.

God is Just

I have hope that there is a God who loves justice and hates evil. I have a hope that God can take any circumstance and bring it about for good.

I am not saying that the deaths of these children was orchestrated by God. God does not bring death, but life. This world, (who God gave us, mankind, dominion over) is broken. We have not done well by His creation, including how we deal with each other.

But God is a redeemer. He can take these heartaches and remind us of His faithfulness and goodness. For when we stare into the face of evil, as this act of murder and rampage was evil, we can turn to God and see His goodness never fades, or changes, He is faithful no matter what.

He made a way for us, through Christ, to have peace, hope and rest even in the most horrible of circumstances.

My Prayer

Father I ask for peace for these families, rest for their hearts, and hope to soon be restored in their brokenness. Father, I ask for wisdom as a nation, on how to move forward, and I stand on your promise that you can take anything and everything and turn it around for good for those that love you and are called according to your purpose. Lord, forgive us as a nation for turning from you, and let this tragedy serve as a reminder not of the man who perpetrated the sin, but of a God who loves us and who comforts us in our times of trouble. You who are the lifter of our heads, the lover of our souls, and the healer of our hearts. Father bless this nation as it mourns this tragedy and restore peace to the hearts and minds of the families who lost loved ones yesterday at the hand of a mad man. Let us not lose sight of how good and faithful you are, and help us remember the words of Job: "Though he slay me, I will trust him." You are sovereign and I will trust you. As we move forward let us understand that the time is drawing short, and the fields are ripe with the harvest. Help us to remember that everyone should hear of your great love and mercy and let this tragedy be turned to our good and Your glory. In the name of Jesus, who died to give us victory over death this very day, Amen.

A Call to Action

Words have power, but sometimes action is called for. Can you join me in donating to the families of this horrible tragedy? Here is a tilt campaign that is raising money for the families. The families will get nearly 98% of all money raised (the website keeps a small fee for processing the credit cards). 

Here is the link: https://www.crowdtilt.com/campaigns/sandy-hook-elementary-school-fund 

Join the Conversation

How did you discuss this tragedy with your family? 

How Should We React to Tragedy?

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

One Reaction

In the wake of the tragedy of the theater massacre in Colorado, it can be so easy to fall into fear.

After the news Friday, my husband and I sat and talked about precautions theaters can make to keep people safer.

Immediately we jumped to problem solving. Why? Because senseless acts make us feel inadequate, powerless and small. In some small way we grasp at anything that can give us back power and make us feel more in control.

We complain. We plan. We blame others. We litigate.

We seek justice and we seek solace and sometimes we get that. Sometimes we get peace after a tragedy. 

Sometimes we are just left with questions. 

It is okay. 

It is okay to feel inadequate. It is okay to feel small. We are. Without God we are without any power. The ruler of this earth uses the twisted and broken to maim and kill where he can, and along the way his ultimate goal is to sow seeds of doubt. To get us to turn from God.

He wants us to doubt God's love. He wants us to doubt God's mercy and justness. He wants us to rail against God and blame Him for being distant.

The truth is God does love us. He is merciful and just and He is closer than we think. Tragedy, senseless or not, does not change that.

When bad things happen what should we do? 

Stand on the Promises

We should stand on every word God has said. His promises are yes and amen. We believed God before tragedy and we should believe after. God does not change. He is the same. The world changed. Circumstances happened. That is the world we live in.

God promises that in this world we will have trouble. Jesus said “I have overcome the world”.

Press into God's presence and let Him comfort your heart. I have put a song here by one of my favorite bands. Listen to it. God has a plan for everyone of us. He reveals Himself in unique and individual ways because we are each unique individuals. 

Promises Lyrics 

By Parachute Band

I have decided I believe it
The clouds cannot defeat the sun
The truth remains
Your words won’t fail
So I rise again believing every one

Our conversations I remember
And I hang on to every word
Cause I have faith you’ll light my way again

I believe your promises are yes and amen
I believe your promises are yes and amen
I know you said it once and I believed you then
So I still believe it

You showed the lowly to the prophet
Revealed the plan among the stars
You say the things that I can see
Alone

I believe your promises are yes and amen
I believe your promises are yes and amen
I know you said it once and I believed you then
So I still believe it

I want in, I want in
Oh I, I want in, I want in
I want in, I want in
Oh I, I want in, I want in

I believe your promises are yes and amen
I believe your promises are yes and amen
I know you said it once and I believed you then

So I still believe it 

How did you react to the news of the violence in Aurora?  Leave your comment below.