what can you do? Many folks are asking themselves this question today. This past Friday I, along with millions of other Americans, watched in anguish and horror as reports came in about a deranged young man, too young to lawfully own a gun, who murdered his mother, then slaughtered an entire classroom of children and six heroic educators in Newtown, Connecticut. It was all I could do to keep the television on. You see, since the election hub-bub in November, I basically swore off all but local news to get the weather report. I barely skim a newspaper, except to read the sales ads. I've stopped reading nearly all of the internet website news feeds that I once received in my email box each day. I unsubscribed to many of them. I am still reeling from the reality of this world. Too much information. Too many lies. Too much deceit. Too much negative overload. It was wearing me out. I decided to start looking for good. Because, I do believe there is good in this world. I really do.
I read where Mister Rogers, the children's television personality, once said that when he was a little boy and fearfully questioned all the bad news he witnessed, his mother would tell him to look for the helpers. "There are always helpers around when trouble comes." That's so true. Often while politicians are giving speeches, and doing photo ops, the volunteers of our country are digging out muck, repairing power lines, hauling trees, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless and clothing the naked. Some folks use a crisis to campaign or to advance a personal agenda. Most use a crisis to aid the people enduring the crisis. We really don't hear enough about those folks, do we?
Because of Friday's senseless tragedy, people are throwing themselves into memorial services, setting up funds to help the families of the victims. Some are sending condolences. Some are going to Newtown and volunteering their services as grief counselors. Many are hugging their children a little tighter, a little longer, a little more. Millions are praying for the survivors of the tragedy.
Sketchy reports are coming out about Adam Lanza, the shooter. He was a disturbed young man. Obviously, he also had a spiritual deficiency. But he had more than one disorder: mental, emotional and physical. One teacher said he needed constant monitoring because he could not feel pain if he cut himself or burned himself. He is described by many as a loner. A loner has little to no social interaction with others. Sometimes they just want to be alone, other times they are incapable of socializing. It seems Adam's case was the latter.
We ask why this happened, why his mother owned guns, and why she showed him how to use them? We're hearing opinions from every sector: from Sunday School classrooms to presidential speeches. Even late night comedians bloviate. As those babies lay in pools of blood with their parents waiting in agony to know if their child had survived, Tavis Smiley (liberal advocate and talk show host) went on Jay Leno and advocated for more laws. The shooter broke 41 laws when he slaughtered his mother and those dear children and heroic teachers. Forty-one laws. And the answer is more laws? Even God knew more laws was not the answer. He had to send His only begotten Son to die on a cross to atone for our sin. God help us to stand in His strength and rest in His grace. May we be who we need to be for our families, our communities and our nation. May we pray for the survivors of this horrendous tragedy and walk in the light of God's love in our part of this troubled world. Hug someone today. Smile. Say good morning. Thank you. If you know someone who is lonely, reach out and befriend them. If you are lonely, let someone know.




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