The Light from the Darkness

We as a nation had a very hard week and some people had a week that changed their lives forever. There was unimaginable loss. Ill people did horrific things. Things that we do not understand. As we move on with our lives let us not forget those whose lives seem to be standing still.  As we saw this past
week, life sometimes doesn't make sense. Life is hard and there is a lot of darkness all around us. We need to be the light. We need to separate ourselves from the darkness so that we can shine and give hope. We need to love without fear, encourage when we are disappointed, forgive when we are wronged, and keep moving forward when all we want to do is stand still. We need to hug longer, speak kinder, and show people what the love of Jesus is. This is not an easy task. Being the light sometimes doesn't feel natural, Its against what our flesh wants to do. I fail at this over and over again. I say sharp words and I hurry along with my day not thinking of others.

The Bible says in the beginning, the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said "Let there be light" and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

In a very dark world with so much evil and illness we need to keep sight of the Hope. The Hope we have in Jesus. That is where our light comes from. God not only separated the light from the darkness but he saw that the light was good. Even though our brains cannot imagine why a sick ill man would want to take the lives of so many innocent children and adults, or why someone would want to go into a mall and kill people who are Christmas shopping for their loved ones. But we can move past the hurt and share love with others. We can pray for these families. We need to. We can love them from a distance. We need to. We can cherish our own families. We need to. We can be the light. We need to.

NY Giants football player Victor Cruz is doing just that as reported by Yahoo! Sports.

On Sunday afternoon, Giants receiver Victor Cruz paid tribute to Jack Pinto, one of the students killed in Friday's Sandy Hook tragedy, by writing Jack's name on his shoes. He did so because Jack Pinto loved him above all other players, loved him so much that he may well be buried in a Cruz jersey.
After the game, Cruz stood and spoke before a semicircle of cameras and microphones four and five deep, and tried to make sense of the fact that he was one of the most important people in the life of someone who died decades too soon ... so much so that Pinto would watch Giants games wearing his Victor Cruz jersey.
"It's humbling," he said. "I was honored to know I was his favorite player. It's just unreal what happened."
Like the rest of the country, Cruz watched and read with horror as the events of Sandy Hook unfolded on Friday. And by Saturday, he realized that he had a personal connection.
"My Twitter feed started filling up with 'Jack Pinto, Jack Pinto,'" he said. "I'm reading this, and I'm in my hotel room fighting back tears." He asked his girlfriend Elaina to try to track down Jack's family, and within 20 minutes, she'd located them and patched him in on a three-way call.
This first time, Cruz and Jack's family didn't talk for very long, just a few minutes of shared sadness. But Cruz pledged to honor Jack's memory in Sunday's game, and more importantly, pledged that he'd be there for the family for a long time to come.
He'll head to Newtown later this week to present Jack's family with the cleats and the gloves. He was sketchy about the exact date, perhaps because he didn't know, perhaps because he'd rather not turn a visit with the Pinto family into a media opportunity. "The last thing I want to do is add stress on the family in this tough time," he said.
Going forward, he wants to do all that he can for the family. "We may do a fundraiser, something like that," he told Yahoo! Sports. "For now all we want to do is comfort the family. We'll think about other things we can do to help in the long term."

Let us as a nation and more importantly a people of God be the light in a very dark world. Mental illness is a very real disease that people need treatment for. If you or someone you know suffers from any form of mental illness please seek help, or be supportive of your loved one and help them to get the help they need. It could save lives.

There is no excuse for the actions taken by these killers. It was wrong and evil. They have stolen from people the most precious gift, life. We may not be able to physically reach out to the families hurting but we can love them from afar and pray for them.

I'm praying for you this week. Love you all very much!

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental illness please seek help.

Suicide prevention lifeline 1-800-273-8255

24/7 Treatment Referral Line 1-800-662-4357

Disaster Distress Helpline 1-800-985-5990

or text TalkWithUs to 66746

In  honor of all of those who lost there lives in the Newport Beach Mall shooting, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, their families, and the communities affected. You are loved and prayed for.