Breaking Hearts

The world's atttention has turned to Newtown, Connecticut, as the tragedy has unfolded since Friday morning.  Before moving to North Carolina, I lived in Danbury, Connecticut, a large town adjacent to Newtown and Sandy Hook.  I used to travel through Newtown on occasion and lived in Danbury for 10 years, so my heart goes out to those in that area.  The unspeakable evil that visited Sandy Hook Elementary School has broken the hearts of so many people, robbed family of precious members, and shocked a nation which cherishes its right to bear arms.  Guns are instruments of death, either for the animal kingdom or for human beings, and our founding fathers didn't know life without the need for firearms for protection and to provide food.  Guns fired a single shot and had to be reloaded, which took time to accomplish.  Life was different.
I could go into a full-length tirade about the need for a change of mind in our country regarding firearms, but I won't.  Instead I'll pray for the comfort of those in Newtown and family around the United States who have been devastated by this tragedy.  It's difficult to fathom, difficult to process, and still difficult to believe.  As the names of the children are released, tears form in my eyes at the beautiful lives that were so needlessly snuffed out.  The only comfort I can find in this is that all of those children are in the presence of God, free from pain and fear, free from harm forever. 
There are no words that can pour a healing balm on the hearts of these parents, family, and friends of the slain, both children and adults.  Time will ease the extreme suffering and loss, but the pain will never be erased.  Faith in God is the only place to find the strength to cope.  As one parent said, it is his faith that will get him through. 
God has given humans the freedom of choice and action, and the shooter chose to act in that freedom to do evil.  It is now up to the rest of us to use our freedom of choice and action to help those who are hurting and to use our lives the best way we can with God's help.
May God bless and comfort those in Newtown, Connecticut, as the healing process begins.