My Take On A Senseless Tragedy~Sandy Hook

I purposely did not post anything yesterday about the children senselessly killed at Sandy Hook. Partly because I was grieving for them and their families, but also because there were some very eloquent, and passionate posts which echoed my sentiments; so I just "liked" their posts and kept it moving as I looked for the higher purpose in this event.

I am a Christian but that does not mean I own the rights to the explanation of suffering. It just means that in times of trial and tragedy, I draw my comfort from the Bible much the same way a Muslim would draw comfort from the words of their own holy book, and so forth. I was driving home in the darkness and the rain listening to NPR go over the facts as they knew them. I had been glued to CNN.com most of the afternoon once I was made aware of the event. Being at work meant I could not go to my quiet place to turn this event over like I was itching to. However, driving along that long road home, allowed me to think to through and the one scripture which came to my mind was Matthew 5:44-45 which states:

"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."(NIV version ) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A44-45&version=NIV

That is the snap shot that came to mind for this event but I always try to look at the context in which a scripture is written because they are easy to take out of context and the word of God is holy so, I try not to overstep my authority when quoting it. I Googled my quote and found many things but this video was one which resonated with me. It is the one which brought me the much desired clarity in how I need to view this event.

Let's face it, I am human with human emotions, I am in the story as it is playing out, but God is the author, the creator of this work. He knows the beginning and the end, he knows all of the plot twist and where all of the angst and tragedies lie. From one author to another I understand that. It's his story, I am just one of many character living within the lines he has written. I can't control events but I can control my response and how I allow events to shape me and my life, I can choose certain paths based on events. We all can. This scripture of Matthew has allowed me to not only pray for the children, but the one who killed them as well, and that was a hard pill to swallow but, nobody said life would be easy.