Shutting Out Sandy Hook

The horrific event in Newtown, Connecticut changed our nation, but I've found myself resisting to allow the tragedy to change me.

I have learned something about myself: I don't do tragedy well.

That sucks if you are a Christian, because you are supposed to have everything figured out. After all, I have a blog and they don't let just anyone have one.

I watched the coverage the first day, but when my five year-old daughter walked in the room, I had my dad change the channel. After that I tuned out.

Why? Because it's easier to pretend it never happened.

It's easy if you will turn off media sources that attempt to keep you informed and stay out of conversations.

So I like to bottle the emotions up.

Why?

1) It's less painful. To think a little blond haired princess the same age as my daughter won't go home to her daddy is hard to think about. It's easier to shut out those feelings.

2) It's less messy spiritually.

This is a theological nightmare for anyone attempting to explain what happened (whether the explanation is to a friend or to yourself).

Is God in control? Yes.

Then God doesn't love us? No, on the contrary he does more than we can ever fathom.

Then why? I don't know. But I trust God even in times of uncertainty. I'm not sure how that even looks besides messy.

3) There is no solution.

Gun control advocates, I'm with you on the need to get rid of semi-automatic weapons. There's absolutely no need for them.

But did you know that on the same day in China a man stabbed 22 elementary school children? No child died, but you have to be mentally sick to do something like that. And it's happened before.

Which leads me to the people promoting mental illness and disorders awareness. I'm all for that too. But will that prevent this from ever happening again? There's no solution that will keep everyone totally safe.

That bothers me.

But I'm wrong, because shutting out Sandy Hook is not Christ-like and it's selfish. It fails to spread the three things that Jesus gave the world. Three things that everyone needs right now.

Faith, hope, and love.

Christian, if you are unwilling to let your heart hurt for others, then your heart is hard. Jesus always felt for the people he came into contact with and the hurting ones he heard about. And when Jesus felt something, he always acted. Sometimes it was a miracle. Sometimes it was just words (Luke 13:31-35).

If you aren't sure what to do in a time like this, you can spread words of faith, hope, and love. There are people who need to hear them, even if you're the audience. Also, continue to pray for the families through the holiday seasons.

Don't be like me. Love the victims and their families enough to do something. Allow them to change you.