Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Light through the darkness

"We come to realize that we bear responsibility for every child, because we’re counting on everybody else to help look after ours, that we’re all parents, that they are all our children.
This is our first task, caring for our children. It’s our first job. If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right. That’s how, as a society, we will be judged.

And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we’re meeting our obligations?
Can we honestly say that we’re doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm?
Can we claim, as a nation, that we’re all together there, letting them know they are loved and teaching them to love in return?

Can we say that we’re truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?"
-President Barack Obama

I don't have anything eloquent to say. I'm just sad. I can't make sense of it and none of us ever will. I felt silly blogging about our daily activities when something so horrific was really on my mind. Like most of you, I didn't feel right acting as if nothing happened. As I listened to our President trying to console some of the families that are having to bury their children too soon, I thought about my current situation and what I CAN actually do. There are, literally thousands of families and children that need help and need help NOW.
Let this horrific act be a call to action for every one of us to do what we can, to help those we can and let this shooting save more lives than it took.  
Good will overcome evil. We just need to decide if we will be a part of the driving force for good or if we let fear push us into the darkness.  
Pick a cause. Send money to build a water well in Africa to save THOUSANDS of lives. Adopt or Foster a child that is otherwise guaranteed a life of hardship and void of love. Mentor an adult that has had a life of despair and pain. Empower people to do a skill that will give them a lifelong steady income.
ANY one. Just PICK. Please.
This is the best time of the year to show love to one another. 
Please, help those in need.  
Please, be the light in the darkness.