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Saturday, December 15, 2012

To Build A Memorial

"When the Cyclone Appeared It Darkened the Air.
 And the Lightening flashed over the Sky
 And the children all cried, "Don't take us away.
 And spare us to go back home."
                                                "Rye Cove"--A.P. Carter


Horror  comes as a light so bright that it blinds us. It comes as a noise so loud that it deafens us. It causes us to forget.

We forget that horror has long been with us. To remember that is not to fail to to recognize the depths of yesterday's horror.  Instead it is to recognize that hope trumps horror. Inexplicable suffering has always been with us, but God has always been with us too.

If first we wring our hands from the horror, and then only wash our hands from the reality, we do nothing to honor the little ones that did not come home last night.  We cannot avoid wringing our hands but we can avoid washing them.

This is the time to get our hands dirty from working hard for the little ones around us today. This is the time for each of us to seek to build our own memorial.  This is the time to become a little league coach. It is the time to become a Scout leader.  It is the time to become a foster parent. It is the time to volunteer in our schools. It is the time to comfort the bullied and to counsel the bullys.

 It is a time for each of us to suffer the little children to come unto us.

It is a time to love. It is a time to turn our lives into living memorials.

Then it will be  time to heal.

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