Tears flooded my eyes as I fell to my knees and cried out to God.  My heart was broken and my spirit was grieving.  As I asked God to wrap his loving arms around the bereaved families,  I began to thank Him for my own children.  Even when my children act out or get on my nerves, they are still a blessing from the Lord. I wanted to hold my kids at that very  moment, but they were still in school.  As I continued to cry out to the Lord, I found myself praying for the family of the shooter.  I know this may not be a popular point of view, but the gunman does have a family. He may have killed his mother, but his father and estranged brother are still alive and well.  All too many times we focus on the victims right before our eyes and forget about the ones in the background.  By no means am I saying that this young man should be honored for the horrific acts that he carried out today.  However it saddens me that he had the state of mind to do something such as this. He must have truly been hurting to the core of his very being and this is how it end. All I’m saying is that my heart hurts for ALL OF THE VICTIMs, him as well.

My heart aches for the little lives that ended so quickly. There will be no more pony rides, no more birthday parties, no more play dates and sleepovers, no more little league or karate classes for the bereaved families.  The Toothfairy and the Easter Bunny won’t be stopping by, and Santa will most likely pass over as well.  No more trips to dentist or check ups at the doctor’s office, no learning how to ride a two wheeler or how skateboard.  There will be no more field trips, school dances or graduations for the lost souls.  No cheerleading tryouts or leads in school play or post game victory parties sponsored by the Boosters.  Daddy’s Little Girl will never have her first kiss, or marry the man of her dreams. Mama’s boy will not be raiding the frig after school with his hungry football player friends. There will be no prom or Homecoming dances, no Senior Portraits or Senior pranks.  Those college acceptance letters won’t be coming in the mail, and there will be no dorm furniture to buy for Freshman year.  The bereaved families have been robbed of all these experiences and there is not a monetary value that can place on them. 

I employ you to live each day to the fullest and cherish the ones you love.  Tomorrow is not promised, and IF you do live to see it that should be considered a blessing. As my husband reminds me that EVERYDAY including your bad days are truly blessings from God as well.