I find it ironic that the very same week I decide to start a
blog focusing on optimism and hope I come across this…
And this…
And THIS…
WHAT?!?!
Awful things happen all the time, so maybe it is just my
unreliable perception that it seems like there is more awfulness this week…but
man, my radar has seemed to be picking up a whole lot of extra negativity!!
For me, the emotions that
surface the most during these tragedies are fear, doubt, sadness, and
helplessness. No one wants to be
reminded that life is fragile and that it can be gone in an instant, it causes
uneasiness and rattles our confidence in humanity and our beliefs of how this
world works. I was pleasantly surprised,
especially after the events in Boston, to see that my Facebook was flooded with
encouraging words and reminders of where to shift our focus. Here is what stuck
out to me the most from a few of the uplifting posts I came across…
"May
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Jesus gave
his life for our sins, just as God planned, in order to rescue us from this
evil world in which we live." – Galatians 1:3-4
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things
in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'" --Fred Rogers
“Darkness
cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate:
only love can do that.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.
Patton Oswalt’s reminder
that the vast majority of humanity fights against darkness, and that the good
outnumber the evil.
“Don't be afraid, for I am
with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and
help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” –Isaiah 41:10
I let my amazing friends on
Facebook uplift my spirit and prevent my mind from taking me to dark
places. We can’t ignore evil, we can’t
hide from evil, we can’t pretend it doesn’t exist, but we can fight against it, in fact, we have to fight against it. We
have to let our light outshine the darkness.
This is where I start to
feel the helplessness again though…because how does that look, practically
speaking. It sounds great, but how does
this look in the everyday?? I’m far from
Boston, I have no idea where to even start righting the wrongs with Dr. Kermit,
and I can’t bring back a little boy from the dead…monetary contributions are
great and I truly believe in the power of prayer, but…what else?! I haven’t
come up with some fantastic solution yet (but I intend to! someday, somehow!
with God’s help!) but I suppose it starts with the small stuff and just being
aware. There are people needing a bright
light in their day all around me, I just have to be willing to seek it out and
then respond. That’s where it gets
tough. Knowing myself, I’ll be all
gung-ho about this simple objective of keeping my eyes peeled and acting on
what I find, but weeks/months from now, it will be pushed further and further
from my consciousness. I want it to be
my constant prayer that God opens up my eyes to the darkness around me and
gives me the strength and wisdom to know what to DO about it. So easy for me to say and write, right now;
in this moment…but you have to start somewhere and I won’t let my own
prediction of my dedication months from now deter me from doing something
today…tomorrow…the next day…
How will God use me (and
you) to shine some sunny rays through someone’s cloudy day today?
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