Newtown, Conneticut

Newtown, Connecticut…quite far away from my corner of the world, but my heart is still heavy with the grief of the losses suffered there. Just a few years ago, I was a school secretary and would have been the first line of defense for any threat that tried to enter the front door of the elementary school.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I would have done…and how my heart would have been crushed to fail at such a mission…and how those women in Connecticut gave their all, literally, to save the kids.

And still, not all of them were saved.

So immediately, there is the rush to outrage, and blame, and demands that such tragedies be prevented…

But what if we can’t? What if it is no one’s fault? What if we cannot always stop evil?

Our immaturity causes us to demand new laws that, in reality, cannot produce the desired result. Even worse, we are satisfied with the symbolism of such laws and consider the problem addressed, resolved.

We are content to say, “Someone should stop that!” instead of, “I will not let that happen again.”

Evil is real, and present in our world. Thank God that we are not blasé about the loss of life, the terror and the tragedy…But there are countries in our world where it is an everyday occurrence…where it is never a given that everyone will come home each night. It is good for us to realize that security is not guaranteed, nor can it be. There are madmen out there from whom there is no protection. And we are fools if we think that we can quarantine evil by laws directed at the lawless.

Rather than look for someone else to secure our safety, we need to wisely consider how we will face the madman when that day comes. Perhaps it will be our day to give it all to save some…something that cannot be done unless one is certain of their purpose, and believes that ultimate security is in the hand of God.

In the meantime, perhaps we should be standing against evil by coming alongside the family of the difficult child, the mentally ill, the addicted, the out-of-control rebel. The first defense against evil is not another law, but for each of us to love our neighbor…in deed and in truth…

“Ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee…”