Heavy Heart

Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee,
when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me
to the rock that is higher than I. 
Psalm 61:1-2

Since yesterday the cry of my heart has been loud and heavy. The non-stop news coverage about a seemingly inexplicable shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, has almost brought this world to a stop...

On Friday morning, in a quiet middle America community, a young man, with no known criminal record, brought at least one or more guns to the school along with lots of ammunition, and began his rampage by shooting innocent kindergarten and first grade students. In the end, from what I am hearing, at least twenty children, six teachers and staff, and the gunman were dead.

Here it is, less than two weeks before Christmas, and so many lives were destroyed. Here it is, the season when Christians everywhere turn their focus on the birth of a tiny Jewish baby, Jesus, who came to save people from their sins, and now the world’s focus is on violence and the shattered dreams of many parents.

I had to shut my radio off a number of times because the endless news coverage and storytelling of the event was making me ill. But it has also led me to do a lot of praying.

D.B.