Ask people of a certain age where they were
on November 22, 1963, and they don't have to ponder or pause to recall their
whereabouts when a sitting president fell.
Likewise, for my generation, we well
remember the crisp winter day in '86, when the crew of space shuttle Challenger
"slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God".
For my family, 42 days
into our parenting journey, it was our children's turn, as we sat at the
McDonald's Playplace in Hermitage, breaking news of the horrors visited upon
NYC, the Pentagon, & Shanksville, PA---albeit watered down for little ears.
Now, all of us must add another date to our
nation's litany of loss. Jason & I had been driving around on that cold,
wet morn about 10 days ago, in our daughter's bustling college berg of Kansas
City, MO. We'd been looking at Christmas decor, noting beautiful architecture,
and awaiting our hotel's appointed check-in time.
As we arrived at our lodgings, bleary-eyed & exhausted from
a 10-hour overnight drive, we learned of the senseless murders of school
children & workers in idyllic Newtown, Connecticut. While we'd been
crooning along with jolly holiday tunes, getting momentarily (and, truthfully,
at the time, hilariously) lost in the
K.C. 'hood "killing time", a young man—our daughter's age, ironically--was
killing innocents.
While details of the carnage played across
cable TV news, our physical need for sleep, so recently pressing, was displaced
by our emotional need to weep & mourn alongside the families of Sandy Hook.
Inside, my soul cried out in anguish, as my spiritual well ran momentarily dry,
despite my best effort to dig deep. I'll try to explain.
Religious faith does not innoculate one
against despair. Likewise, it doesn't always illuminate the darker matters of
life, nor does it grant easy answers to the myriad incomprehensible
complexities & tragedies of life, either. Now, to my mind, this is not a
failure on my Deity's part, though many may view it that way. I see it as a
flaw in us, in humankind---from the diabolical acts of the deranged shooter, to
my inability to perceive how any good could emerge, or even exist for
that matter, in the wake of such violent slaughter. (Most writers would pause,
now, to make a point about “seeing through a glass darkly”; in fact, my
husband, a professional writer, did just
that when he spoke about it on facebook, to nice effect. Well, then, I'm no copycat. I'm also, for better or worse, not “most writers”.)
Many of the people in history I admire most---my
heroes & heroines, if you will---were able, across time, to find PEACE,
even when they were facing unimaginable chaos, suffering, & strife. Jesus,
Helen Keller, C.S. Lewis, Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rev. Dr. King, Rosa Parks,
Ruby Bridges, Jim Elliott, Steven Biko---all "fought" the sorrow,
trials, or violence visited upon them with sacrifice, and with appeals for
PEACE, in the face of pain or punishment.
Because of these influences (and
certainly not because of anything innately good or noble in me),
as the moments passed, & we settled somewhat into our suite, the children's
choral hymn "Let There Be Peace On Earth" came to my mind, as the
perfect counterpoint to the stark madness before our eyes onscreen. My first
thought, moments before, when initially surveying the footage from Sandy Hook on the TV in our
hotel lobby, had been pessimistic & grim: "How will these families
ever celebrate Christmas again?"
Within a short time, though, stories of people
both lost & saved began to emerge from the school. Brave adults had pulled
children out of the line of fire, thus risking their own lives. A deacon at
Newtown’s St. Rose of Lima Church shared that a newly 6-year-old girl, one of
the victims, had selflessly donated her birthday money to the church, to assist
those dealing with the aftermath of another national heartache---Hurricane
Sandy. A teacher in her twenties--a virtual "child”, if you will, to me---valued
the even-younger lives of her charges above her own, & died trying to
safeguard them.
Slowly, these stories began to
overshadow details---some erroneous, some not---about the perpetrator of these
dark deeds. At least, they overshadowed the details for me. Inexplicably, a
gentle chorus stirred in my breast, even as my anger & disgust began to
dissipate. They were replaced by warmth, & a PEACE that passes all
understanding, for me, at least. I could picture these
little lost lambs, being welcomed by a heavenly musical throng, & by a
once-upon-a-time Child, who came to bring a new kind of PEACE to the world.
That former child, like so many of his fellow peacemakers, like those utterly
innocent children, was Himself met with violence & murder, in a display of
humankind's worst.
Still, despite the ugliness that represents
the worst of humanity, an offer of PEACE was held out to us. While I lack
Divinity coupled with my humanity, I can choose the path of PEACE each day---in
thought, word, & deed. I recognize that not everyone I know will credit the
same Source or Example as I, but we can all bring more kindness, calmness,
& simple joy into the lives of others. In doing so, we'll succeed in
helping to “save” & “assist” those around us, though perhaps not in the
same way as the young ones of Sandy Hook, of whom I spoke.
Every year, it seems things are getting
more grim & terrible—or so most voices on tv say. I don't doubt that, from
a certain perspective, they're right. However, I can't help but believe that a
day of PEACE is possible, even though we'll each have our own idea of what that
might be.
For me, the Torah tells us this, in what we
Gentiles call Isaiah 11:6---"The wolf will live with the lamb, the
leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the
yearling together; and a little Child will lead them." To
my fellow christian believers, a picture of the characteristics of this PEACE
appears in John 14:27---"Peace I leave
with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let
not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
A secular poem, by Raymond Foss, adds these
thoughts:
Practice kindness to all
Exhibit the best of your nature
At one with the universe
Called from ages past,
Echoes of the creation
At one with the universe
Called from ages past,
Echoes of the creation
And lastly, somewhere between the two perspectives, Sarah
Flower Adams captures much of what I cling to, in moments where PEACE seems far
away---
Part in peace: is day before us?
Praise His Name for life and light;
Are the shadows lengthening o’er us?
Bless His care Who guards the night.
Part in peace: with deep thanksgiving,
Rendering, as we homeward tread,
Gracious service to the living,
Tranquil memory to the dead.
Part in peace: such are the praises
God our Maker loveth best;
Such the worship that upraises
Human hearts to heavenly rest.
CLICK HERE TO PLAY SONG---http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggmtULEV4mc
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