Our nation mourns.
Friday morning, a 20 year old gunman entered a school in Newtown, Conneticut armed with a rifle and two pistols. He gunned down 20 children ranging in age 5-7 years old as well as 6 woman after shooting and killing his mother in their home then turning the gun on himself - 28 victims total. This is the second worst school shooting in our nation's history with Virginia Tech being number one with 32 deaths.
This is becoming an epidemic.
Not that long ago, we were shocked to hear of the "Batman" shooter. Then shortly after, another man was arrested for having an arsenal in his trunk saying he was heading to a local theater. When the blockbuster, Breaking Dawn 2 came out, there was word a man was planning a theater attack. Just over the weekend, a man was arrested in my state, not that far from where I live and go to church, because he threatened to burn his wife and go on a shooting spree at the nearby school. He had 47 guns in his home. Saturday, during mass at the local church in Newtown, someone called and said "my friend didn't finish the job" and said he would. This has got to
stop.
The media flashes the killer's face and name everywhere on tv, the internet, papers, radio, etc.--almost like he is a celebrity. We know his story, his past, his family, his medical condition.....everything. What about Charlotte, Daniel, Rachel, Olivia, Josephine, Ana, Dylan, Dawn, Madeleine, Catherine, Chase, James, Jesse, Grace, Anne, Emilie, Jack, Noah, Caroline, Jessica, Avielle, Lauren, Mary, Victoria, Benjamin and Alison? What about who they were? What about their stories?
Perhaps if the media would just give the basic information about the killers and not "glorify" them, then others would not try to 'do one better'? People with that mentality will see the publicity that one person gets and will then, in return, try to "up the ante" and create a shock circumstance to get their names sensationalized.
In 2010, China had an epidemic of men coming into schools, wielding cleavers and knives. They would go in with the intent to do extensive harm. Friday, the same day as Newtown's massacre, a man in China went into a school with a knife and injured 20 children. I do not know his name or his background. I just know of the incident. Why? Because China did not create a whirlwind publicity of the event or the assailant. Since 2010, China has taken precautions against such attacks and while one occurred last week, they are now few and far between. Perhaps we could learn a thing or two.
Then again, tragedy is what brings people together; it is what keeps us wanting more in some macabre way. Tragedy is what keeps us gripped to our chairs, flipping through channels. It is what keeps us browsing the internet for new information. I admit I am one of these people. I want to know everything there is to know. Not because I am morbid but because the human mind fascinates me and I want to know what possesses someone to think that life is so messed up that massacring innocent children is okay.
I have heard Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket the funerals of the victims. Shame on you Westboro! If this is true, then perhaps you should be directed to the Bible that you are staking your claim to justify your actions --
".......whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished." -Proverbs 17:5. The fact that they call themselves a church leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
I have heard some say that we need to put God back into the schools. God has never left the schools. He is there as He has always been. Jesus, Himself, said he would never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). God was there last Friday amidst the sorrow and tragedy just like He was there in the Garden of Eden, when Cain killed Abel, with Daniel in the lion's den, with Judas' treacherous kiss....with Jesus on the cross.
God did not do this.....God did not create this sinful world.
We did.
He created us with a plan in mind and gave us free will. It was our own free will and our own arrogance that created the world we live in. God knew what we would do, I have no doubt because He is all knowing....however, even though he knew what Eve would do once tempted....He hoped she wouldn't.
This world is going to be full of hurt, tragedy and sorrow. It will continue to be a cesspool of negativity and heart ache until the moment when Jesus returns. We can merely learn from the circumstances we are thrust into. Learn to love a little more, care a little more, hate a little less......to come together as a nation and help those hurting and hope that if we face devastation, the favor would be returned. We can pray for the families affected and pray for the killer's family. They are going through this devastation as well - they lost family too.
Lastly, gun control. I admit I hate guns. My dad had them growing up. I don't want to hold one, I don't want to shoot one....I dislike them. With that being said, I am not naive. I do not think guns are the issue. We can take them away all we want but if someone wants a gun - they will find a way to get it. Guns will not eliminate violence. Cain killed Abel with a rock because his drive to do so was so consuming that he was out to kill his brother with whatever means necessary (Genesis 4). He could have planned it and had wielded a knife or something that would have done the job easier. However, being consumed with jealousy and rage, he did the deed with the nearest object. Hitler used gas.....everyday people are creating bombs, fire, gases, chemicals, etc.......you can take away the guns all you want but if someone has the mindset to create chaos --- they will find a way.
With all this being said, I do not fear for my life or my children's. I refuse to live in fear. God says we do not have the spirit of fear. It is what it is. I will rejoice in the victories and mourn in the sorrow. I will look for the good in all circumstances.
While this event has broken my heart, it will not be the last of its kind. The scales are in the balance, dangerously on the verge of tipping. What will be the final grain of sand that causes the scale to tip? What will be the final event that causes Jesus to look at the Father and ask "is it time?" and the Father to look back with a resounding "YES"?
It will continue to get worse. It has since Eve took that first bite. Our world was then destined to die. We have to look at the big picture. While things will inevitably get worse, Jesus is still King. He will return and bring righteousness. He will return in all His glory and take us to the place He has prepared where there will be no more sorrow, no more pain and no more tears. A place we will be reunited with loved ones. A place where I will sit at the feet of Jesus and a place where I can rush to my earthly father who has passed on and hug him and say "I made it!". It will be a place of constant joy, saturated with praises and love......a place where the mothers will be reunited with their children.
I, for one, cannot wait. Jesus....come swiftly.
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