I sat here watching the news this morning and my eyes began to burn and the tears started to come. They were showing pictures of the victims of the tragedy in Las Vegas. A lot of the victims were so young and I thought about my kids. It’s so overwhelming, this evil. Then I saw the people who responded and helped those who had been injured and needed to get to the hospital. None of them had any thoughts of themselves, but of what was happening in front of them and who needed help most. The police who ran toward the danger were once again, selfless and professional.
Good and Evil. It’s not that we won’t have these two forces at work in our society….we will. Evil’s notion of destruction will not be deterred. We can safeguard to our hearts content, and I think that we should do everything we can to be prudent in protecting ourselves. I’m not making a statement here whether there should be more guns or no guns, so don’t get off track debating that. We can plan all day, all month, all year, all decade and all centuries on…But none can fathom what the heart of man is capable of doing….good or bad.
Each of us respond differently to how we manage and get through great difficulty. We live in a multicultural world and all of us has our own way of dealing with calamity, whether through religious beliefs, self determination or resignation..we contend in the avalanche.
On this day, we bear all manner of catastrophe. The devastation of Puerto Rico/surrounding areas, the current suffering in Las Vegas, the Harvey hurricane, California/Montana fires and their residual clean-up and restoration effort. There is the ongoing jihad with ISIS, the warmongering of North Korea the unrest in Spain among others. Our emotional and psychological plate is full.
So what’s your point, Greg. My point is that we can’t take it all on. That is an impossible quest that even Don Quixote could not achieve. It’s the age old fable between the tortoise and the hare. It’s the reference made in the movie “What About Bob” with the scene in which Bill Murray kept repeating over and over, “Baby steps….baby steps…baby steps.”
For me… and all I can do is speak for me, I choose to set my hand to the plow and nurture every good and perfect gift that God has given me. Like the responders in these emergencies, do what I can do to the best of my ability to nurture the good in the world. Seeking justice, serving my fellow man, giving…not out of comfort.. but out of sacrifice. Being a man who listens to everyone in how to deal with the touring evil. Not having a will that demands my own way…. but a pliable, vulnerable and altruistic heart. It’s a daily day we live. It’s a daily day we conquer.
Greg, you speak for all that is good in our country. Bless you.
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Yes, day by day. To look at the big picture, as you have laid it out, is absolutely overwhelming. At times, resignation seems to be the easier route to take. But, we do have a part to play in our own sphere of living. Love, kindness, compassion. There can be no giving in to evil — it will not prevail. More and more, I rely on my life verse.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Prov. 3:5
I am so grateful I don’t have to figure it all out before doing what I can to try make my little space a bit better. Faith, Hope, Love
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Well said Greg. There is only one way to deal with overwhelm. Hard to remember in the moment. Thank you.
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How to deal with the touring evil…What did you mean to say there?
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Thankful for the encouragement your words bring. I take this to mean that I should do the things God has given me to do and trust Him to do the rest. He is able. He is not overwhelmed. He is good. His ways are not my ways (whew!). He will take all that is meant for evil and will bring about good.
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