Light over Dark
Between all of the natural disasters throughout the world over the last month, I didn’t think the heart could get much heavier. I guess part of me wants to bury my head in the sand and not believe that evil—to the degree of a mass massacre, on victims that don’t stand a chance, exist in this world… but sadly, it does. Some days (like yesterday) I fear that evil so much that I want to barricade my little family inside and avoid the outside world all together… turn off the TV, shut down the devices, lock the doors and play “go fish”… only existing to one another and pretending that we’re safe as long as no one can reach our existence! But that is not what we are meant to do nor is it what I want for my family. I want us to be louder and stronger than that evil that exists.
With all of my heart and all of my soul, I KNOW that there is far more good in this world than evil. There are countless people who want to bless, and bring light to society, in contrast to the random and horrible individuals that want to destroy good and happiness. While I choose to believe this, I know that it’s true. Ugly exists... and boy, is it ugly. But the kindness and light will always shine brighter and always make the bigger difference. Good will always be stronger than hate and it will always win, if we let it. And we will because the majority of humankind is pretty darn amazing and good.
The other night, I saw on social media that a little girl in Arizona was missing. As I read this in bed next to my sleeping husband my heart was tormented for her parents who I knew were not getting any rest that night. As a mother of three I could literally feel agony for them and tears rolled down my face as I thought of their pain and stress. I went to each of my kids bedsides and kissed their cheeks, even through crib bars. I set our house alarm and felt grateful to have all of my family in such close quarters and so protected. So much of me wished we could stay in this confined space for longer than just the night. I was overjoyed in the morning to discover this little girl in Arizona was found unharmed. But I still felt sick thinking of the alternatives. Through the good people on social media, she was brought home. So many loving and concerned friends AND strangers shared her picture online and a good man recognized her when he saw her on a street curb. Just another reminder that their are good people everywhere... looking out for one another.
The truth of the matter is that this world is unpredictable and sometimes incredibly scary. This is especially difficult to live with when you are raising innocent and beautiful little children. It’s hard to avoid these truths and not live with these fears… almost impossible. But we can’t let it overcome our homes and the way we teach our kids to view the world. I feel that as mothers, fathers and mentors, it’s our duty to spread light and to teach children to live in joy. They’ll see the ugly, we can’t hide this from them nor should we… But I hope that through the ugly times, they’ll choose to lift the hurting and still see the immense beauty in humanity.
Our family is praying fervently for Las Vegas and France right now. We are still discussing the victims of all the recent natural disasters with our oldest who has a lot of questions. I’m so touched by all of the good people who are putting their efforts together to help those affected… Just yesterday, our cousin spent five hours in line to donate blood in Las Vegas that will go to helping the victims. Thank you to all of the lights that outshine darkness in this world!
