Love in a Hopeless Place

Image courtesy of Newtown Photo Memorial Project.

How do you tell your children about the deaths of children in their age range? Can you reconcile this atrocious theft of innocence for an entire community with the idea of a God who cares, and is just and good? How many parents like me have likewise hid their tears and sorrow for strangers if only so their own children won't be frightened?
The massacre at Sandy Hook School has impacted so many. I live in CT. Somewhere deep in my heart, I always felt my kids were safe, if only by virtue of living in a tiny state. Tragedies like the loss of these precious kids happened in the great land of Elsewhere. Not here. Not to ours. Evil was for places like New York, large cities so unlike any here.
There is now a Twitter campaign to honor the lives lost at Sandy Hook. Local schools have begun things such as toy drives, letters, and memorial vigils. For those so moved, there is also a special address to send letters of support and condolence. These small gestures will never bring these children and educators back, nor will they do much to ease the pain of the families left behind, but they allow us as a state and nation to unify in our shock and sadness.
I do not know how wrap my mind around this. So many ridiculous people have come out with even more ridiculous ideas of why this happened. From taking prayer out of public schools, antidepressant medications, and autism all the way to NRA conspiracies. Truth is that it's rarely merely one thing that makes a person just...go off...like that. Chances are that we will never know the full reasons behind the shooter's motivations. We can make our best guesses but the reasons died along with him.
What can we as a nation do to prevent such a disgusting act of violence from touching our children again? I'm not sure. Much of what makes sense right now is to improve access to  behavioral health treatment, and to actively work  to change society's views of those seeking help. We can restrict access to guns, renew the ban on assault rifles, and change laws. We can improve school security measures, and 911 response times. Perhaps these kind of changes will help in the long run.
People are trying to make sense of this massacre. In my opinion, the best way is to be the light against the darkness. Love abundantly, and unashamedly. Be kind to strangers. Hug the children in your life a little tighter. Show tolerance and compassion to those around you. May whatever God there is bless you all in this time of mourning.