Perspective
What happened in Connecticut on Friday was horrendous. I can't let it totally sink in or I will fall apart. All those babies gone, I think a few teachers too, horrible. It's really a reminder that this is not our home. Our home is in heaven.
While mulling over the tragedy, my friend told me something that completely changed my perspective. She said, "that's the price of freedom." What? She said she had a friend in college who was from Israel. She was very uneasy when people carried backpacks - she was used to treating every backpack as a potential bomb - it usually was. She would get anxious when someone was wearing a baggy sweater and it wasn't that cold out - in her country it usually means that person is hiding explosives under the sweater. You see, things like what happened in CT happen all the time in her country and she had to live in constant fear she would die at any minute. Her whole life. So, the price of freedom is that we live in a free country where that kind of thing hardly ever happens. We don't have to be constantly worried, stressed, afraid. However, when something terrible happens (this is earth, not heaven, terrible things are going to happen), we are totally shocked. We are not used to it. Praise God, we are not used to it. (I'm happy to say the young lady from Israel ended up marrying an American and now lives here in our free country. It's not perfect, but it's better.)
So, while I can't stomach the thought of losing my little girl, and I can't even spend a second trying to identify with those poor parents, I am praising God for freedom in this country, for welcoming those sweet babies into His home, and for the outpouring of love those people are getting from people around the country right now.
While mulling over the tragedy, my friend told me something that completely changed my perspective. She said, "that's the price of freedom." What? She said she had a friend in college who was from Israel. She was very uneasy when people carried backpacks - she was used to treating every backpack as a potential bomb - it usually was. She would get anxious when someone was wearing a baggy sweater and it wasn't that cold out - in her country it usually means that person is hiding explosives under the sweater. You see, things like what happened in CT happen all the time in her country and she had to live in constant fear she would die at any minute. Her whole life. So, the price of freedom is that we live in a free country where that kind of thing hardly ever happens. We don't have to be constantly worried, stressed, afraid. However, when something terrible happens (this is earth, not heaven, terrible things are going to happen), we are totally shocked. We are not used to it. Praise God, we are not used to it. (I'm happy to say the young lady from Israel ended up marrying an American and now lives here in our free country. It's not perfect, but it's better.)
So, while I can't stomach the thought of losing my little girl, and I can't even spend a second trying to identify with those poor parents, I am praising God for freedom in this country, for welcoming those sweet babies into His home, and for the outpouring of love those people are getting from people around the country right now.
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