"He is close to the brokenhearted..." My heart is heavy as I think upon today!

 "He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." (NLT) 2 Corinthians 1:4

My heart is broken at the downright evil that took place today in our nation.  I am reminded of how bad things happen every day to good people and we can never take for granted where we live.  Things like this can happen anywhere and how do we prepare our hearts for such a  catastrophe?  As a parent, I can't imagine what the parents and families are going through at this very moment as I type this.  This is something that no parent can prepare for nor should they ever have to.  It is so unfair and unjust and to think about the uncontrollable fear that paralyzed those children in their last moments is unfathomable.  It brings me to tears and makes me so mad at the enemy for stealing the innocent and true joy and hope from peoples lives.  I close my eyes and try to put myself in their shoes.  I think about Eli and sending him off to school trusting that he is in the safest place possible.   A parent never entertains the thought that the worst could happen there.

Today, a parents worst nightmare and fear took place. My heart hurts and no words come to mind that can justify the deep ache that I feel for the people of Newtown, CT tonight.   This is a tragedy that cannot be undone and nothing can be said to make things right.  The only thing that we as a people can do when something like this hits close to home is to be the comfort that He is to us.  This is the extension of God's hand in the flesh and He promises in the scripture that when people are troubled, we will in turn be able to bring comfort to them as He has for us.  My prayer tonight is that the victims of this horrific event would tangibly feel the supernatural comfort of the Creator extended through the hands of the created.  This is the only thing anyone can offer at a time like this because I'm sure everything appears to be caving in for many right now.   May the families who are hurting, broken and crying out in anger tonight be justified by the One Constant that remains true and faithful.  I trust that God will be their comfort,strength and peace because nothing else in the natural could even come close to bringing them through such an uncertain and heart wrenching time. One positive that stands out to me from all that I have seen, is that the teachers are truly heros.  They loved, protected and fought to keep those kids calm in the midst of chaos.  It's a blessing to have people standing to fight for our children and comforting them when we as parents cannot be present.

As we all lay our heads on our pillows tonight may we all be reminded to pray/intercede on the behalf of the broken and those who can't get the words, courage or even faith to trust and believe for themselves.  This is a crisis of life that so many are facing and lets stand in the gap for those that are hurting.  May we not walk and live in fear because of the evil around us, but put all our hope and trust in Him.

I am hugging my little guy tighter than ever tonight, thanking God for blessing me with him and the time we have together.  Life is just the blink of an eye and let us never take for granted the blessings of life.  Evil will never be abolished here on earth, but we can stand and fight for righteousness, comfort those who have been done wrong and stand in the gap for those who are too weary to fight!    Psalm 34:18- "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."    Lord, thank you for being all that you say you are in scripture and for being close to the broken tonight.  Only you can comfort, heal and mend like no other man or hand can!