My blog is all about finding the humor in life, but obviously there is not one bit of humor in what happened to twenty innocent children and seven brave adults yesterday. As a parent and a child of God, I sat in front of my computer yesterday like you in horror and disbelief and grief crying my eyes out for twenty-seven families for whom life was forever changed in an instant when evil crept into it.
The parents of those children did the exact same thing I did yesterday morning before they went to school. A hurried morning of breakfast, getting dressed, finding coats, loading into the car, joining the drop off line, quick kisses, telling them, "I love you", "Have a great day", "See you after school", all the while taking for granted that those words would come true, and never imagining for a moment they could be my last ones to my precious kids.
I, along with all of you, was blessed enough that those words came true. My kids, blissfully unaware of what happened at an elementary school in CT, came tumbling out of their elementary school with smiles and chatter and excitement that it was Friday and a weekend full of Holiday fun was in store. I soaked in every bit of their exuberance and innocence.
I was keeping a friend's kids after school as well, and I took all four of them to the local convenience store for a junkfest. Ice cream cones, donuts, slushies, whatever they wanted. Then after dinner, my kids and my daughter's friend, who was sleeping over, crammed into my bed for a "Duck Dynasty" marathon. What would pass for a normal Friday night at our house yesterday became extraordinary to me.
Twenty sets of parents and seven families of teachers who would never again have a "normal" Friday night. For them, "who we are" became "who we were" in an instant. Eventually, they will find a way to go on, but they will never be the same.
I don't have the answers to all of the questions that are being asked right now. I don't know why. I don't know how. I don't know what can be done. Evil has existed in this world since the beginning of man. But so has hope. And faith. And love. These three things can triumph over evil every time.
If you let what happened make you bitter and unforgiving, evil wins. If you let it make you combative and turn the events into a political argument, evil wins. If when your kids ask questions about the shooting, you shut them down and refuse to talk about it, evil wins.
How do hope, faith and love prevail? You start by counting your blessings. Every day. Big ones, small ones, unexpected ones, long-standing ones. You understand in your heart and teach your children that while evil things are done, they don't change who we are and what we believe. We know that we aren't supposed to have all the answers because we are not omnipotent. God is. We are supposed to lean on Him in times of sorrow and confusion and when we're angry.
Our kids are watching us all the time. They do think we have all the answers. While it's okay to let them know that we don't, it's also paramount that we let them know that they are safe, they are loved, and they are precious. And we need to do it every single day.
I could go on for days with all of the thoughts I have regarding the evil in this world and how good God is and how in our family, we will always believe that He has a better place prepared for us that evil cannot touch, and how ready I am for His Son to return and bring us there. Hallelujah! But I'll go ahead and close with something I wrote, which was my Facebook status yesterday.
"Christmas presents already bought that will now never be opened. Holiday travel plans that will now become funeral plans. A parent's focus on dreams of their child's future that will now become a focus on precious memories of their child's past. Men and women whose dedication to educating children turned this morning to defending and protecting those same kids as they sacrificed their own lives to do it. There are no answers, there is no reasoning it out. Life is random and brutal and precious, and every moment of it is a gift. When you can't make something right in your head, make sure you are right within your heart. May God comfort the children, staff and families of Sandy Hook."
Sparkly and Blessed Kisses,
D
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