Thoughts...Newtown Massacre...Grief

I saw a brief clip of the news a few minutes ago. The news is not on in my house because I have a 6 year old that I do not wish to expose to the tragedy in Connecticut. I do not wish to over expose myself to it either. My heart aches for the victims, their families, the school personnel, the first responders, the crisis teams called in to support the children, the town...the pastors who have to comfort all. My heart aches for our nation. Where are we going? We can't bomb, shoot, or kill our way to peace, or to reconcile differences. It's incongruent. It doesn't add up. Makes no sense. Every life is precious. An Iraqi life, an American life, a Palestinian life, a Jewish life, an aborigine life, a Sudanese life...a life from Newtown, a life from Chicago, a life from Charlottesville, a life from Toledo, a life from Long Island, a life from Tokyo, a life from Malaysia, a life from El Salvador, a life from New Delhi, a life from Southeast or Northwest DC...ALL life is precious and even though it doesn't all get in depth coverage, mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and cousins and aunts and uncles and god mothers and god fathers and god sisters and brothers and classmates and coworkers and gas station attendants and hairdressers and karate instructors and piano teachers and janitors ALL miss them, ALL of the dead, when they are gone. I know as a member of the human family who feels human suffering, I know that I must grieve this loss of life cut short prematurely and unnecessarily. Maybe I will make time every week to pray for all of us who grieve. Maybe when I have a private moment, I will allow myself the opportunity to feel the sadness that comes way thinking about putting yourself in the shoes of those who've lost loved ones in this way. I know that life goes on. I know that we must find a way, a better way to take care of each other and ourselves. I know that eventually this event will slip further back into the recesses of our minds like 9/11 and Katrina and VA Tech and Aurora. It will and It has to because life is lived in the NOW...not the past or the future. I know that we will never forget. We will remember... I know that every parent and family member and friend who lost a loved one is never the same again. Life is forever changed, but it can be full of love again. Full of hope again. These are times that we must cleave to God. Hold on to each other and make each day better. Not just for ourselves but for ALL.