Tragedy happens every day. And when it does, social media is an immediate reminder that people talk about it and have varying opinions and approaches to coping with it. Healthy and unhealthy.
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Violence on Campus: Helping Your Kids Cope with Tragedy
Today, families are lost for answers as news spreads about the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Here’s just one of the thousands of stories on the events from today.
So many emotions and thoughts roll through my mind as I try to make sense of this. Almost 30 lives are lost today. 30 families that will never be the same. 11 days before Christmas. Just gone. It all seems so hopeless. I feel so helpless. Emergency workers and first responders with images so ingrained in their minds that may never be healed.
Tragedies of this magnitude are impossible to understand.
So we try to make sense and express how we feel. Anger. Pain. Grief. Anxiety. All of these are normal human emotions that we experience. It shakes us to our core with a sense that all is hopeless.
Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
That seems so impossible to do right now. When a man is shaken to his core, his true character comes out. We must not be overcome by evil. Therefore, we must choose the path to forgiveness and to healing. We must pray for this community. We are stronger together.
And believe that there is hope when all seems hopeless.
How are you handling the news of this tragedy? Has it affected you today? There’s a LIVE COACH waiting to talk to you right now.
This Thanksgiving weekend marks the 5th anniversary after losing a classmate, neighbor and childhood friend too early in life. I still remember going to his funeral and seeing many that I graduated high school with asking the same question, “Why?” There are still no answers today just as it was back then. And for thousands of families who have lost a loved one during the holiday seasons, this time of year can be especially difficult.
While many families are celebrating and sharing in laughter and joy around the dinner table, there are those who feel numb with little or no joy. This year, reach out to a friend or family member that you know who needs to know somebody cares. If you have lost a loved one recently, know that you’re not alone. No one can take that pain away, but no one should have to walk alone. And know that you can talk to someone who cares when emotions are overwhelming.
There’s hope. There’s help. You’re never alone.
This video of WKBT anchor Jennifer Livingston is a brilliant reminder to us all that the outside isn’t a real clear picture who we are. You are defined by your character.
Stand up to bullying!
Common Bullying Myths (dosomething.org)
Have you ever met someone who has an excuse for every situation, letdown, decision – everything? All the time. They’re always right in their mind. And if you call them out, they get defensive and there’s a good chance you lose a friend.
I’ve been there. I had excuses.
It’s a sign of a deeper distress. As good as I could make excuses sound, they were what they were – excuses. The more I used them, the more I believed them. And before too long, I’d made excuses left and right. I didn’t realize it, but my excuses were causing people hurt. What I was communicating was “I’m right. You’re wrong. Get over it.” Harsh. Thankfully, that’s not me anymore.
I was done hurting others. I was done hurting myself. I gave over my need for control and the need to be right.
The reality is that people see through excuses. Not always right away, but they will. Excuses aren’t always lies… but they’re not always the whole truth.
In fact, the writer of Romans says that one day each of us will give an account of ourselves to God himself. No excuses. Come on, would you really try to lie to the Judge?
What excuses do you have? True freedom comes when you start letting go of the excuses and the need for control. God wants to set you free from whatever it is that keeps you from being free. All you need to do is be willing to change.
If you need someone to talk to about this, there’s a coach waiting to talk to you.
