No perspectives, just a father’s reaction to tragedy and healing

I was trying to meet my monthly commitment to IBMadison.com, but what I was writing was just so relatively unimportant right now that I couldn’t focus on it.

This national tragedy in Connecticut is shocking and awful. This is one of the worst things I’ve witnessed or could ever imagine. So I write to hopefully share in the healing with you. This is admittedly pretty raw, but I believe it’s healthy to just react as normal people would rather than let the media and politicians contrive emotions for us. Please feel free to share as well.

I’m reeling. As a father, I can’t help but feel sad, nauseated, angry, and devastated. I can’t look at my kids, think about this tragedy, and not cry. So I don’t. I save those tears for the children and parents in Connecticut. I look at my kids and am even more grateful for their health and life. I’m also grateful for my life and my wife’s life – that we can be here to be with our children, to raise them and to love them. I’m going to try to use this pain in a way to make things better for my family and community. It will take time, but I hope it starts here.

I’m also very angry, not just at the situation, but at God. “God Is.” That Truth is at the center of my life and is what has Saved me. Without it, I would be nothing but ashes and dust. But today, I can’t find reason in my mind why God would allow this to happen. God is way beyond my understanding, and so is this tragedy. Christmas will renew my Spirit; it must, but for now, I’m Spiritually depleted.

How will these families recover? Will they? I’m praying for those families every day with the greatest sincerity of heart. I’m praying for ALL families who have lost a child or loved one, including those that do not make the headlines. This tragedy is horrific, but experiencing the loss of a child at any time or any age under any circumstance is equally visceral and tragic.

I’m praying for wisdom as we as a nation of real people reflect on this. We have unity around this, which is rare today. We now need honest leaders to heal with us, not the insulting rhetoric or the current politicizing of this event by the few in the government who have already started to do this – who are quickly dividing us once again. It’s so disgusting that I’ve turned the TV off. There will be a time for politics and there will be time to address the big issues, but it’s not now – at least not for me. Let’s instead lead by our own example rather than letting the TV speak for us before we’re ready to speak.

I’m praying for those who protect us. I’m grateful to those around us who care for our children when we’re not able to. Day care workers, schools, teachers, police, firefighters, military, parents, and people who simply look out for other children when they know their own parents can’t. It takes a community coming together to do this. Let’s not allow addiction to smart phones, the ease of isolation, and oversensitivity to political correctness prevent us from protecting other children from evil as well.

I’m praying for all of us who are broken by this to be healed. Don’t give in to this evil. The world looks horrible to us right now because this is unspeakable evil, but living in fear and reacting as a direct result of the fear means evil wins. Let’s heal and offer hope so those who are in fear know that good wins.

I’m praying God doesn’t let this ever happen again to anyone.

Hold your children if you can. I’m praying for you if you can’t.

As we close the celebration of Hanukkah and begin the celebration of Christmas, I encourage us all to use the Grace and Goodness given to us because of these Holy Days.

Sign up for the free IB Update – your weekly resource for local business news, analysis, voices, and the names you need to know. Click here. If you are not already a subscriber to In Business magazine, be sure to sign up for our monthly print edition here.