Violence in our world…. part too(yes I spelled it wrong) in a series

It is too sad, that there has to be a part two to this topic.

The bombing of the finish line at the Boston Marathon was made all the more sad by the lives lost and the lives altered forever because of the misguided thinking of two young men (they believe).

The reactions of my two older children was one of sadness and disbelief. Disbelief at the idea that someone, anyone, would take a moment of personal glory for the first and last place runners and do what they did. My teenagers were dumbfounded with the act. And when they heard that people died and were hurt by the bombing the un-understanding crossed their visages. Why? Was the question of the afternoon. And as mom, I wanted to answer but could not, in all honesty, come up with a viable reason. Most people don’t think the way someone who thinks placing a bomb in a location that can hurt innocent bystanders does. A vibrant, happy child. A dedicated friend. A student. A dancer. A mom. A toddler and on and on. Three souls lost to heaven and hundreds more injured from yet another act of Violence.

Violence happens everyday, everywhere. We can all agree on that. It is the mass of this particular incident that draws our attention and makes us all pause incredulity. And the fact that, once again, we see it in America, it brings back unwanted memories.

The only thing that I could pull from my hat of momminess was to pray. Pray for all that were affected. Not just for those killed and maimed but for their families and friends. For the spectators that will walk away with survivor’s guilt. For those that were supposed to be there but for one reason or another weren’t. And for the people that felt it neccessary to place the bombs. That they be found. That they see the wrong in what they did. That they learn the love of Christ and of His forgiveness.

I told my girls this morning that they found two young men that, it is believed, did the act of terror at the Boston Marathon. They were grateful that it may be over-on that front.

This was an act that affected my girls, but it wasn’t personal, as the violence in her school was, it was an act that was distant, but not. My girls were in preschool and 1st grade 9/11. But they were personally effected because their daddy was supposed to be at the Pentagon (thankfully the meeting had been cancelled that morning, unbeknownst to me). They lived through “lock downs” at their elementary when they were in K and 2nd because of the DC Sniper. We moved~ they watched the tv while it reported the capture of a serial killer in their new home, BTK captured after years of murders. And now this…… as a parent I don’t know where to go from here. I guess once again we will lean on what we know is most important, God, family and friends.by Brian Andreas