This Beautiful, Yet Broken World

Today I come before you all to talk rather openly and honestly about something that has been on my mind for a while now, especially in light of recent events. Now, normally, Kevin L Neff and His Random Rants is a place where uplifting, quirky, and funny times are had. While my aim here with this post is to inspire hope, I hope you understand that I am going to speak quite passionately about an unpleasant topic that I have always struggled with...

When children die.

I am not talking just about sickness here. I am talking about when, due to the carelessness of others, children are killed. This happens indirectly, for example, in war-torn countries where civilian casualties are common, and directly, like a drunk/distracted driver or disturbed adult.

Please understand... I know all about the Plan of Salvation. I know that little children are granted Celestial glory if their lives are cut short. (And it's not like I am okay with adults dying, either.) Yet, for some reason, there is perhaps no other occasion when I want more to raise my fists to the sky and shout, "What the heck is the matter with this stupid world?!" than when I hear of yet another child dying. You see, I don't handle that well. I have never handled it well. Of course, I don't have children of my own, and I've never had a tragedy like this occur in my own family... but that doesn't matter.

You see, when a child's life is taken from them, you are not only hurting their loved ones. You are not only taking from them THEIR future, you are taking away everyone's future. For all you know, that child could have been the one to fix this broken, broken world. That child could have made music, or become a teacher, a worker, a friend, a parent... so much potential extinguished.

But you know, regardless of the above reasons, I guess what I hate the most about these kinds of things is that there is no easy answer. There is no instant solution, some band-aid to make it better. I don't understand what it feels like, so it's hard to know what to do to help. There's nothing you can say; nothing you can do to really help someone who is suffering the loss of a child. I don't understand it, and I don't know if I ever will in this life. Sometimes, when it's a drunk/careless driver, or a negligent/abusive parent, we immediately desire retribution; for the offender to suffer more-so than they who originally suffered the loss. Some people sue the perpetrator, as if some monetary amount is going to bring the child back to life. Some people demand the death sentence. It seems justified, after all.

However, suffering compounded with suffering does not amount to healing; it only yields more sorrow. And, for every person responsible for the death of a child, purposefully or not, there are so many more children who die without any justice at all. There is not enough justice to fix the broken world. My heart breaks for these families, friends, and mentors of these children... and I just hate not being able to do anything about it. I hate feeling so helpless.

And... in a weird way... that's the beauty of it. I am not called upon to render justice upon anyone, even if I wanted to. I am powerless to turn back the clocks and prevent these kinds of tragedies. Even if I could hear the cries of every person and see every tear shed by every living person, I am just one man. I barely have the power to reach out to those precious few close to me, much less an entire world. Even though my heart breaks, that isn't enough to help anyone heal. I have to put all of my trust, all of my hope, all of my heartache into the hands of Someone who does know EXACTLY how it feels, and how to make it right.

Sure, this world-- as it stands now-- is broken. Children die, families are torn apart, and senseless wars rage upon the face of the Earth. Who on this broken planet, with so many broken people, can really put us all back together?

Interestingly enough, no one is going to do that. No one is going to put us all back to the way things were.

You see, while I don't know everything, I do know this: He who is perfectly acquainted with the sorrows and sicknesses of all people is not interested in just putting the pieces to our lives back where they go. No, He is interested in a far greater mission... to put us together, with Him as the master carpenter, as something better than what we were before. This world will continue to break until it shatters, but will be someday rebuilt as an eternal paradise. People who break down under the weights of poverty, illness, and whatever else during this life will be rebuilt as kings and queens in the next.

Most importantly, broken families who lose these dear, dear children will be put back together... to never, ever be separated again.

Once upon a time there was a Princess.....

Once upon a time there was a Princess.... What does that mean anyway? Who is she? She is obviously beautiful, but why? Is it her looks? Her charm and grace? The way she treats others? What about her makes us all stare and think “I need to know her.” What about one person makes us all want to reach out to touch her? All but the evil love a Princess. But I wonder.......Does she love herself? I have thought a lot about that recently. For the fearful and the scarred there is nothing quite so terrifying as some one asking to know you. I am not sure why that is. Even more frightening is when that person describes you as someone you want to be. What is it about someone seeing us clearly that makes us want to run?.... There is a moment in life when you realize that the only thing holding you back is yourself. Others all see your light, your “Power”,  the things you so desperately wanted to be when all you could touch was the dank darkness of the abyss you refused to let swallow you. In that moment of enlightenment what do you do? You have two options; you either sabotage all potential happiness or you change the way you look at your self.  That is the choice when one day you find that the Princess is You. She has always been You..... So Your Highness....what will you do?

The Constant in the Wind.

While walking to a park near my apartment I found myself suddenly awakened.  I have always been some what of a Dragon Slayer.  My Sword has always been used to fight for right and truth.  But here and now, I find my self resting.  "How long have I not been in the good fight?"  I ask, remembering the Troubling nights before, treading for air in a choppy sea.  I somewhat miss being at the point of do or drown.  Never knowing if the next wave that goes over your head may be the last.  Being tossed to and fro by the currents, but ever treading, an island off in the distance.  Having that one goal in mind, that one truth that defines me.  Though oft I find myself alone in the dark, following that star, singing the song of redeeming love I feel that the words are lost.  Carried away by the fierce winds that constantly change direction.  Being brushed up against the shelter of my fellow men.  Being changed, by them, into the eerie howling wind of the night.  Something to be feared and full of mystery.  I long ago had charged my self with defending them.  But some how I find my self in a sheltered place.  A gully, to spend the night.  And when I awake to this world of night, I remember my duty, and feel regret that I can not be as constant as the constant of the night.  I suppose even a warrior needs rest between battles.  Rest however if foreign to me, perhaps because I have been on the front line so long.  So out into the wind I go, fighting it's currents.  And perhaps if others see me they will get close enough to hear my song, and join me.  I make the small journey back to my apartment and as the wind blows in my face I find I have a new resolve for my old promise.