…and with beautifully written prose, she gives an answer.
…There is a terrifying unspoken element to this story, that each of us contains within us, a heart capable of darkness. Not the same darkness, but there are all kinds of ways that we contribute to the isolation, loneliness, darkness, hunger and thirst of the world, by our words, by not talking, by our refusal to act, by our refusal to get involved. Getting involved in the world is a dangerous thing, messy, and if we do act, we will not be the same.
But the everyday courage of going out your door and engaging other people, as you shop, as you park your car, order food, help with homework, greet a teacher, see a neighbor or sit in a pew, these are the little acts of love that can knit and mend 1000 cuts if they are repeated, every day, all our lives. We cannot stop sin in any hearts but our own, but we can encourage grace in others as we live by our lives…
If you’re not reading her, you should be.
Thanks Larry D!
Thanks for pointing us her way.
BTW, I chose another way to respond to this tragedy: I decided to try to respond in kindness. For each of the 28 people who died, I am performing an act of kindness. With each act, I am giving a card explaining in whose name I’m doing a kindness and why. If you wish to download a copy of the card or learn more about it, please go to http://acts17verse28.blogspot.com/2012/12/can-sense-be-made-of-senseless.html or, if you want a tiny url, to http://tinyurl.com/d3syye7.