A Moment of Silence

On December 21, 2012 at 6:30am Pacific time there was a moment of silence for the people who were killed in Newtown Ct. Twenty six bells chimed in honor of each victim. As I stopped to observe this moment of silence I thought of the song "I heard the bells on Christmas day."

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th' unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

In despair we have all bowed our heads thinking in our hearts that there is no peace on earth. Truly hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men. The important thing to remember is not the fact that hate is strong but the fact that our Lord is not dead, nor does He sleep.

He wasn't asleep when the tragedy happened nor is He slumbering now. Eventually wrong will fail and right will prevail and there will be peace on earth, good will to men. In the meantime we need to continue to pray for the families of those affected by this tragic event and offer them the comfort they need instead of trying to come up with answers.

When we go seeking it is faith we will eventually find not answers. Faith and trust that God is in control even though our enemy the devil has his jurisdiction on earth as well.  Trying to come up with the answers to our "Why?" questions will get us no where. Leaning on our faith in God will lead us out of the sad and rocky situations we find ourselves in into brighter days and healing.

Years ago when I had epilepsy I nearly beat myself to death trying to find out the answer to question of "Why did this happen to me?" It wasn't until I was told that 90% of my seizures were stressed caused that I figured it out that I had to give up my search for "Why." When I did the stress of seeking something that wasn't for me to know was gone and my seizures improved.

Over twenty years after being cured of my epilepsy I got breast and bone cancer. The question of why could have popped up but I had learned that lesson years ago. There was no answers and to try and go down that road again would only end up on the same dead end street I found myself on during my time of the uncontrolled seizures of epilepsy.

Faith is our strength to endure not answers. God bless those affected by this event in not only Newtown but other events in life such as a death from cancer, a tragic accident, loss of income, relationship struggles. Everywhere we look there are dark corners but if we trust in God eventually the light of Jesus will come to every corner but only if we grant it access through our faith.