SOTW - December 21, 2012 - Newtown

We human souls toil painfully to explain bad things. Our minds struggle with the hows and whys of inexplicable evil like that visited on Newtown, Connecticut last Friday. It is among life's angriest endeavors, one that is ultimately to no avail. It's beyond us. But one emotion cuts through the confusion and helps us make sense of our human role in these events. Compassion for the victims is the Guidestar that leads us through the agony. Whether we stand at Ground Zero staring at those thousands of names carved in bronze, or watch the faces of the 20 precious Angels now with God (and the brave Guardians who went with them) float from our television screens into Eternity, comisseration for those lost and those left behind takes over. It helps us heal.

Newtown, a nation of 300 million and a world beyond shares your pain. We cannot explain why, so we will not try. We can only hold our arms out for you and pray for your comfort in this darkest hour. We pray that these lives were not lost in vain, and that the un-fillable void they've left behind can be displaced in part by a national resolve to act; to do what it takes, whatever the cost, to stop this scourge of violence in our society.

I do not purport to be a wise enough man to have the Answers, to know definitively what the source of this problem is and what will work (and not work) to wipe these tragedies away. But I do know that we are facing a very real, present, and dangerous problem. This is no time for closed minds and obstinance. Staying the same course will bring these tragedies to other communities, sooner rather than later. So, as a nation, what are we going to do? We must decide.

Your Early Evening Song of the Week for December 22, 2012 carries a message of empathy and awareness. Newtown, we hear your cries. We are there with you, and we are listening. God bless you in your time of need.