Dear Daughters,

Why is the news of yet another mass shooting at a school not surprising anymore?  I,  maybe you as well, have grown so accustomed to hearing about violent, senseless shootings, that we have become apathetic as we listen and read some details, then walk away and continue our day.

I have been pondering the hopelessness, anger, rage, hurt and fury that must be consuming a man’s mind as he plans, purchases, and devises all the evil he desires to carry out on unsuspecting victims, those in his opinion who are deserving of death.

Millions of children are being taught in American schools that they as humans are simply a collection of random mutations having occurred over an unspecified number of years.  They are educated year after year that they have no real reason or purpose, but only that they have arrived on this earth as a result of time plus matter plus chance.  We are little more than beasts of the jungle –  the theory of evolution tells us – so is it really surprising that people do what they do?

The disintegration of the nuclear family, loneliness, separation, divorce and fracturing human relationships all add up to violence in society. God created us to belong, to love, to live in community with one another.  When that is lost, every evil behavior surfaces.

And then there is the blame and fingers pointing all around:

It’s the fault of the FBI

The lack of gun control

Not enough mental health counselors…

You’ve heard all the excuses, but ultimately we are all to blame.  We have not befriended the outcast, the lonely, the marginalized.  Instead we often mock, gossip and treat people who are different than us as if they belong to a lower caste.  We become so consumed with our personal comfort zones, trying to keep our own little stories happy and pain free, that we don’t look to those who are suffering more than we.

Violence is a matter of heart control, not gun control.

Who controls our heart?

I know how important friends are for well-being.  There have been times I have felt friendless, and my mind thinks of horrible things.  I know how I have hurt people who have hurt me – not with a gun, but with my words.  We all have hearts that struggle with evil and need not point fingers at others who simply live out their thoughts of revenge.

This is not to say that justice should not be served, there must be consequences for all violent actions, but let us be mindful of our own hearts which have become cold to the hurts of others, reacting with outrage and judgement.

G K Chesterton, an English writer in the 20th century, was asked by The Times to answer the question,

What’s wrong with the world?

His written response was:

Dear Sir,

I am.

Yours, G K Chesterton

Now those are the words of an honest man.  He understands his own proclivity toward evil, and realizes that without asking God to rule our heart we are inclined to do evil as well.

When Jesus lived on earth He was criticized for hanging out with the prostitutes, the tax collectors and other lowlifes of society.  How far we have come from His compassion and goodness.

I have always loved Micah 6:8:

He has shown you, O Man what is good.

What does the Lord require of you,

But to act justly,

To love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God.

 Lord, please break our hearts for what breaks Your heart.

Love, Mom