Saturday, December 15, 2012

Where to Look for God’s Goodness when Tragedy Strike


When I heard the news about a young gunman entering an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. and opening fire on innocence...deliberately killed little kindergarten children...their teacher, the principal among others...my heart sank and I immediately went to the Lord to pray. 
Perhaps not so surprising...I had no words to express what I was feeling. 
In my horror and utter despair for the victims and the parents I instinctually knew I needed to pray...but I had no words. I tried to put my heartbreak into the simplest terms...but could not. 
 As my thoughts raced around in search for the words to speak...I began to realize that God was not only hearing me...but He fully understood what I could not express with words. 
“...God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves...”  ~Romans 8:26-27 The Message
Today... I continue to pray for all the victim’s families and for all the first responders...and I’m praying for all of us.  This morning, my heart was feeling very heavy as I though about all the horrible acts of violence happening in our world. I was burdened with images of the evil in humanity. 
Although my faith in people’s goodness fails me often...my faith in God’s goodness is firm. As I was pondering how God’s goodness will one day be revealed from this tragedy... I saw a quote from Mr. Rogers that a friend shared. Here is that quote;
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers--so many caring people in this world.”  ~ Mr. Rogers
Thank you Lord for reminding me I need to take time to look away from the evil that is prevalent. To pause and look away from what enticed a young man to kill little children so that I can see the goodness in all the caring people surrounding the frightened and grieving. 
The Lord wants us all to see the helpers who are plentiful...and know that His goodness is shining through them. As I watch the latest news reports now...my eyes are open to seeing the caring people and helpers...and my heart is encouraged and given renewed hope.
So...what can I (we) do to be one of the caring and helpful people? Well, we need to join our nation and take this time to grieve with those who have lost precious loved ones. 
I am also praying that the Lord will help direct our prayers and lead our hearts in how we are called to respond to this tragedy that will bring glory to God and bring the reason we have hope to those who have none.   
May we who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, be found praying and seeking God’s wisdom for our country...praying for all people to come to know Jesus as we do.
Perhaps...by God’s grace, as we pray for the lost, there will be found among them the next angry young man who once thought to kill...but has chosen life because he discovered he is loved by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords because someone chose to share the love of Jesus with them.
“God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.”  ~ Romans 8:29-30 The Message
For God's Glory...
Kathy 

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About Me

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My life in Christ came a bit late in life.I grew up in a Christian home and was baptized at age 9. I enjoyed a long career as a flight attendant (1973-2005). I met my husband Brad, in 1984 while living in Tampa Florida. At the time, we both were living a lifestyle that was not pleasing to the Lord. We married in 1986, but it wasn't until early 1992 that I knew the Lord was calling me to Him. God placed this same desire in my husband's heart. As Brad and I grew in faith, so did our desire to serve God in ministry. In late 2002 we moved to Virginia Beach where the Lord called Brad to serve as a Worship minister. In 6 short months, Brad was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I found my greatest moments of weakness came when I placed my thoughts on all the things that could go wrong and allowed fear to take hold. We were given 5 more years to share together. God is faithful and to His glory I serve Him through writing devotionals and inspirational article for this blog as well as a published writer with the writing team of A Widow's Might ministry. Our Devotional Books are titled: "For The Love of Her Life". I am also an Inspirational Speaker.