While being an emotional and sensitive person helps me to be able to minister to people and have compassion and to be a better writer, it can also deeply hurt. I have been so upset by the tragedy of the shooting in CT that I have stayed off Facebook because I cannot bear to read post after post. Today, while scrolling through my news feed, I saw just one picture of a beautiful little girl who was a victim of this horrendous act and I lost it. Now as I write this I cannot stop crying.
Like others, I have asked God why horrible things happen like this happen, especially to innocent children. We have been talking in youth for the past few weeks about sin and the affects it has on others, the world and ourselves. I may not have all answers to everything, but I do know this. God has never left us, even when we do horrible acts and do not deserve forgiveness. He is here. He still loves us. He loves us so much that He gave us a free will to decide what kind of person we will be. We decide our actions, no one else. God did not cause this horrible shooting or anything else that happens in this world. I believe with my whole heart that these children are with Jesus now. That is the hope that we can cling too. As a parent, my heart is broken. I look at my children and I cannot imagine what these parents are going through. Nevertheless, I do know that God knows what it feels like to lose a child. He watched His son die for all of us. Jesus died for our sins. He died for the sins that seem so little to us, to the horrific ones that we do not even want to think of. However, the truth is, they are the same to God. They are all sin and they all came upon Jesus on the cross. Love is the reason that Jesus died. Love is the reason that God watched His own son die on the cross. Love. God loves us more than we can ever imagine. That is why God gave us a free will. He could have made us all where we automatically choose Him. But He didn’t. He wanted us to come to Him and love Him because we want too.
It is okay to be upset, to hurt, and to be outraged by what happened. However, never doubt God and His love for us. Pray for the parents and families, pray for each other, pray for our government and for America. Because God is the only hope, the only way things can get better.
Life is too short. You never know when it may be over. Do not let a single day go by that you do not tell someone about God’s love. Cherish your families and your children. Do not let them go a single day wondering if you love them. Live your life with actions that will go on touching lives long after you are gone.
Hugs,
Erin
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