My one, biggest prayer for you that I will pray over you for your whole entire life will be that you will not know sorrow. You will not know grief. Pain. Misery. Anguish. Fear. Loneliness. Terror. Heartbreak.
While I know that this is unrealistic prayer, I will pray it nonetheless.
The tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, will just be an awful event in your history book. For so many lives in present day, it was a cruel and horrifying reality.
A mad man, who does not deserve for his name to be spoken, took the lives of 26 children and their teachers, principal, and guidance counselor, as they sat in their classrooms on a Friday morning. Over 700 children fled for their lives.
For no reason.
It is awful for me to use my fingers to type those words. For no reason. There is never a reason good enough to cause this kind of irreparable harm. There is no justification for this crime. The parents of these children and the families of these teachers will never know why their loved ones were taken from them. Countless children are scarred emotionally for years to come, scared to go back to school in fear of another gunman.
Oh, how I pray that this never happens to you.
The night of the shooting, I held you so close. When it came time for you to go to bed, I wished that you were still tiny so that you would sleep with me. I placed you in your crib relunctantly, handed you your favorite teething toy and your Wabbit, turned on your mobile and Sleep Sheep, and wept as I watched you lay there so peacefully. I wept for those parents who were unable to put their children to bed that night. I wept for those parents who would never be able to sneak back into their baby's room for just one more kiss before all the lights went out. I wept.
You, of course, had no idea. You smiled back at me, talked to your Wabbit, and watched the birds on your mobile go round and round. You know nothing of this kind of fear. For that, I am thankful.
But for now, the whole world is walking in fear. We've learned that no place is safe. We can't go to the movies, the mall, or even to school or work without watching our backs or having safety precautions. Your Daddy carried his gun to the movie theatre the other night. He is trained and licensed to carry his gun in places that regular citizens cannot, so I always feel a bit safer knowing that his pistol is on his hip. But will he ever have to use it? I hope not.
As a parent, it is my job to explain why these awful things happen to good people. I have no answer for you, except that the Earth belongs to Satan. We know that God created this world. We know that He created His people to be a reflection of Him, and that all things that have breath praise the Lord. But we also have a free will. Our human free will is often guided by Satan.
Can God stop these things from happening? Yes. God can do anything. Can I explain why He chose not to stop the gunman on December 14? No. The only explanation I can give you is that bad things happen at the hand of Satan, and God allows them to happen. If bad things never happened, then God would never be revealed and glorified through suffering. God Himself suffered on the cross. Through suffering comes victory to those of us who know and believe. This is an extremely hard thing to understand, even to me. It's yet another piece of our beliefs that we probably will not understand until we are risen to Heaven. Only through faith can we have this confidence.
But God is not dead, nor does He sleep. He works through ALL things, good and bad.
Those precious babies walk in Heaven with Jesus today. And I hope that the teachers who lost their lives knew of Christ's salvation, and they walk in Heaven as well.
I can only teach you what to do in scary situations. I can tell you not to talk to strangers, and if a stranger ever touches you, to scream as loud as you can and run to the nearest authority figure. To call 911 when something happens. When you are older, we will educate you in depth about Your Daddy's guns, and that they are used for Daddy's protection while he works. They are not toys, and you are never to touch them. And we will do our part to keep those weapons locked and put away where you cannot get to them.
Oh, how I pray that this never happens to you.
The night of the shooting, I held you so close. When it came time for you to go to bed, I wished that you were still tiny so that you would sleep with me. I placed you in your crib relunctantly, handed you your favorite teething toy and your Wabbit, turned on your mobile and Sleep Sheep, and wept as I watched you lay there so peacefully. I wept for those parents who were unable to put their children to bed that night. I wept for those parents who would never be able to sneak back into their baby's room for just one more kiss before all the lights went out. I wept.
You, of course, had no idea. You smiled back at me, talked to your Wabbit, and watched the birds on your mobile go round and round. You know nothing of this kind of fear. For that, I am thankful.
But for now, the whole world is walking in fear. We've learned that no place is safe. We can't go to the movies, the mall, or even to school or work without watching our backs or having safety precautions. Your Daddy carried his gun to the movie theatre the other night. He is trained and licensed to carry his gun in places that regular citizens cannot, so I always feel a bit safer knowing that his pistol is on his hip. But will he ever have to use it? I hope not.
As a parent, it is my job to explain why these awful things happen to good people. I have no answer for you, except that the Earth belongs to Satan. We know that God created this world. We know that He created His people to be a reflection of Him, and that all things that have breath praise the Lord. But we also have a free will. Our human free will is often guided by Satan.
Can God stop these things from happening? Yes. God can do anything. Can I explain why He chose not to stop the gunman on December 14? No. The only explanation I can give you is that bad things happen at the hand of Satan, and God allows them to happen. If bad things never happened, then God would never be revealed and glorified through suffering. God Himself suffered on the cross. Through suffering comes victory to those of us who know and believe. This is an extremely hard thing to understand, even to me. It's yet another piece of our beliefs that we probably will not understand until we are risen to Heaven. Only through faith can we have this confidence.
But God is not dead, nor does He sleep. He works through ALL things, good and bad.
Those precious babies walk in Heaven with Jesus today. And I hope that the teachers who lost their lives knew of Christ's salvation, and they walk in Heaven as well.
I can only teach you what to do in scary situations. I can tell you not to talk to strangers, and if a stranger ever touches you, to scream as loud as you can and run to the nearest authority figure. To call 911 when something happens. When you are older, we will educate you in depth about Your Daddy's guns, and that they are used for Daddy's protection while he works. They are not toys, and you are never to touch them. And we will do our part to keep those weapons locked and put away where you cannot get to them.
And I will pray that no danger comes near you. That Satan will keep his hands from you. That you will always be protected by a shield from the Holy Spirit.
To the victims and families of Sandy Hook Elementary, as well as the community of Newtown, our thoughts, prayers, and support are with you. May you find the blessings of the Holy Spirit as you search for peace in this tragedy.
To the victims and families of Sandy Hook Elementary, as well as the community of Newtown, our thoughts, prayers, and support are with you. May you find the blessings of the Holy Spirit as you search for peace in this tragedy.
My prayers, too. Perfect peace in the midst of a life filled with chaos and evil.
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