Twenty Little First Graders

When I picked up my wife from work on Friday, December 14th, I asked her to text our daughter with a message that read something like, “Give the grandkids an extra special hug from us tonight.”

It had been about 8 hours since a monster had entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed twenty first-graders and 6 staff members.  Our granddaughter is the same age as those 20 innocent little kids.  

Earlier in the day I had clicked on a news website to see what was going on in the world. When I read the horrific headline I just dropped my head, closed my eyes and began to silently pray.  With just an awful feeling I called my wife and told her what had transpired in Connecticut. 

The next day one radio announcer remarked, “You know it’s a bad day when you are stopped at the traffic light and the people in the cars around you are crying.” A “bad day” doesn’t even begin to describe what took place.

Words just get in the way when trying to express the enormity of the grief that the parents, grandparents, family members and even the entire community of Newtown must be going through.

The shooter, Adam Lanza, fired between 50 and 100 rounds.  Most of the shooting took place in two first grade classrooms – 14 were killed in one room and 6 in the other.  Eight little boys and 12 little girls.  The six adults that were killed were all woman…and all were heroes.

In the mode of US Marines, several of the adults ran toward the sound of gunfire.

Denis Hamill wrote this in the New York Daily News, “The 2012 Daily News Person of the Year Award belongs to all those who put their lives on the line at Sandy Hook Elementary School trying to save the lives of children…”

In that same article he goes on to say, “Jump for joy for a Sandy Hook Elementary janitor named Rick Thorne who did a Paul Revere run through the hallways after spotting the gunman, shouting, ‘A gunman is coming! A gunman is coming!’ He checked to make sure the classroom doors were locked.”

Victoria Soto, a 27 year old first grade teacher, put herself between the gunmen and her terrified first graders.

The Apostle John wrote, “Greater love hath no First Grade Teacher than this, that she lay down her life for her students.” (John 15:13)

One first grader escaped by pretending to be dead.  When she finally ran and reached her mother she said, "Mommy, I'm okay, but all my friends are dead."

It wasn’t long before AM talk radio and the cable new shows were filled with talking heads pointing the finger of blame.

Was the rampage the result of loopholes in the existing gun control laws?  Is it the violent first person shooter games that we should blame?  Is it the need for more precise mental health evaluations and more dollars to be spent in that area?  Is it bad parenting?  Is it the result of Hollywood’s glorification of violence and gore and blood?

There is a great cry throughout our country for something (anything) to be done.  On the left there is a call for firmer gun control laws and even a demand for guns to be confiscated; on the right there is a call to arm the teachers.

The purpose of this brief article is not to opine on what should or should not be done, but to hopefully (and in the smallest of ways) provide some spiritual comfort. 

First, we live in a broken world where sin is rampant.  Unfortunately there may be more Adam Lanza rampages in the years to come.  Albeit they were not school shootings, in Chicago this past year 500 people have been murdered. That’s almost 20 Sandy Hooks per year!  When Jesus was born, King Herod, not wanting any competition for his throne, cruelly massacred all of the boys in the region of Nazareth 2 years old and younger.  Perhaps dozens of parents had their hearts ripped apart that day.  The Apostle Paul wrote, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be…brutal, haters of good…” (II Timothy 3:1-3). 

Second, as tragic as this event is, the news media will quickly move on to other current events and will, for the most part, forget about Sandy Hook.  But God doesn’t forget.  The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Yet Jerusalem says, “The LORD has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.’’ “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?  Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?  But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!  See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.” (49:14-16)   

Thirdly, unless we have lost a child, it is hard for us to fathom the pain of the parents and grandparents at the loss of their little ones.  How can you even open the door to their bedroom without tears streaming down your face?  How can you face Christmas without the joy-filled faces of those little first-graders?  But there is a God Who does ache and feel and love.  Revelation 21:4 reminds us, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”  The proof that our God is a God of love is found in the fact that He doesn't delegate the job of wiping away the tears of sorrow to angels...He does it Himself!  The lyrics from the song “For Those Tears I Died” remind us, “I felt every teardrop when in darkness you cried, and I strove to remind you that for those tears I died.”  The Heavenly Father endured the brutal torture and death of His only Son; and because of that He has a tremendous compassion for the community of Newtown.   

Fourthly, find a way to show kindness and find a way to serve.  Your gentle action may make a world of difference in someone’s life.  And the world needs an army of empathetic servants. 

And finally, pray for Newtown and Sandy Hook Elementary.  Often relegated to end of the line because of its seeming unimportance and powerlessness, prayer can make the difference in someone’s life!  There is an unfathomable power available through tears that are poured out at the Throne of Grace! Through prayer we can connect individuals and communities to a God Who cares.  In the coming weeks and months remember to lift them up in your prayers.