What is wrong with the world?

I'm supposed to be posting an update on a sweet little girl who will be joining us for Christmas in a few days, but instead I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes for eighteen innocent little children and eight heroic adults who will not be spending Christmas with their families. What is wrong with the world?

Many will blame God, but this is not how God intended for us to live. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says to us "for I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

We were not made for despair. We were not made to live with the stresses we inflict upon ourselves and one another. We were not made to turn a blind eye to one another's pain. We were not made to destroy one another.

He gave us free will so that we could fully experience love, but with free will comes the freedom to make poor choices. He wants us to choose Him! In II Peter 3:9 we are told "the Lord is not slack concerning [His] promise...but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish..." The God I know is greiving with us. And that is why I am thankful to know Him and to be able to cling to Him for hope and to pray at times like these.

Please pray everyone. Pray for comfort for the families of the victims today. Pray for those who witnessed the terror at Sandy Hook and survived. Pray for the young people in our world who are increasingly filled with dispair and trauma and can't seem to find constructive ways of dealing with it. Pray for those in our communities struggling with mental illness. Pray that God will give each of us the ability to see into the hearts of those closest to us and recognize when they might be struggling or in pain or need our comfort.

I hope that we will ask God to help us keep our priorities in order and to focus on what is truly important this holiday season. While I have lots left to do to prepare for Nastya's visit, my primary focus for this afternoon is going to be to snuggle with my kids and make sure that they know that I love them.