We send our children off to school in the mornings believing and praying that they will safely return to us at the end of the day. We pray the bus driver will deliver them to and from school safely. We hope that their school is indeed a safe place. We expect actual heaven-sent angels will be at their side, every step of the way.
I have first and fourth grade children. The idea that there could ever be a day touched by such horrific actions, had never before entered even the worst of my nightmares. Who could possibly contemplate a gunman walking into an elementary school and taking the lives of so many?
20 precious children, ages 6 and 7, didn't get to go home yesterday. 27 families and an entire nation scared forever by another senseless tragedy.
As a parent, you spend your entire life trying to protect your kids... trying to teach them to make good choices so that one day, they can be successful, happy adults with families of their own. It's hard-wired into our DNA; the idea that we have the ability to control what happens to us... but we don't.
My first instinct was to immediately pull my kids out of school and homeschool them until they're 30. Unfortunately, news headlines also flashed through my head from this past year, of mall and movie theater shootings. The reality of it is, there is no true safe place. Home invasions and car accidents happen every day.
So, what do we do now?
The only thing we can. Teach our kids to pray and to enjoy life.
The world is a scary, uncontrollable place. Our children, as well as adults, need somewhere they can be 100% secure. The belief that we have an eternity to spend with our loved-ones in heaven is so powerful, that we gain strength and peace in times of great sorrow.
Do I believe the world is a more violent place today than it was two days ago?
Probably not. There have always been evil people in the world, but there have always been so many more of the good. I refuse to raise my children in fear. I'll give them the tools they need, to live the best lives they can. I'll do my best to direct their futures to fulfill their dreams. I will not raise them to think the worst in people. I will always believe good will always win over evil.
My heart aches for the families affected from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. They will not mourn alone. Their great loss will not be forgotten. My prayers are for them tonight. May their little angels find peace in the arms of our heavenly Father.
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| Painting: Serenity by David Bowman |
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