My husband & I had the awesome experience of visiting New England last fall. We were especially enchanted with Sandy Hook & Newtown where we spent most of a day (Hubby a photographer who spent hours photographing your beautiful towns), so much so that I told my husband, “I feel like I belong here”, and actually began googling the area for real estate, and had told friends & family that out of all of New England, I had fallen in love with Sandy Hook & Newtown and that “someday I will live there”.
So it was with unbelievable shock when I heard about the terrible tragedy. “Why Sandy Hook?“, I questioned. Why this quiet, friendly, beautiful, perfect little town? Why “my town”? Why innocent little children? Why wonderful and caring teachers and therapists? Why? Why? Why??
My heart is so broken for all the families and for the whole town, but I pray that you all will not allow this heinous act to define who you are as a community, but instead, to be a beacon to the rest of the country and the world for what it means to come together in the face of tragedy and adversity; what it means to really be a community, to care for your neighbors, to stand together with dignity, to pray together, and to ask the rest of this country, “How many more children, how many more mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters will it take before we do something?”
There is nothing anyone who has not gone through this awful thing can say to ease the pain. I pray today and will everyday for the rest of my life that in some small way, it will help to know that there are so many of us out here who hold you in our hearts and who pray that God will give you the strength to carry on; that the memories of your beautiful children and family members will be of their uniqueness and of all the wonderful moments you shared with them, and that those will give you joy to somehow ease the sadness and sense of loss.
God bless you all and God bless Sandy Hook & Newtown………………………
