The Children, The Violence, The Deaths, The Loss, The Hurt, The Pain

Children are being killed at alarming rates, not only in the United States, but all over the world. But, in the United States, countless children are killing children. Adults are killing children. Police are killing children. It seems that every time you turn on the TV, a child has been killed.

Black children in particular are senselessly killed almost every day, especially in large urban areas such as Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. Black-on-Black violence has become shamefully devastating. Regardless of color or gender or sexual orientation, the death of a child is traumatic.

I cannot begin to imagine the pain, the hurt, and the emotional devastation from the death and loss of a child. I believe that one of the greatest sorrows on this earth is when parents have to accept the fact that their child, “their baby,” has died. Regardless of the situation, every child, I believe, has value and significance. And every child that is born brings a light and a gift to make a difference in this world.

The society and culture in which we now live has become extremely violent and aggressive. Oftentimes conflict is resolved only by violence and aggression, whether in real life on the streets or in fantasy life on TV crime shows or in video games. When I see the lack of remorse and hear the justification of the killing of a child, I wonder about the moral and spiritual compass of the one who killed.

If you are a Christian, as I am, most Christians seem to forget that God had a Son who lived on this earth and who eventually was killed. When Jesus Christ was killed on the Cross, do we ever think about the pain and the hurt that God felt, seeing His Son murdered? And do we ever think about the pain and the hurt that Mary, the mother of Jesus, felt, seeing her son tortured, crucified, and killed in front of her eyes?

If you have lost a child, I am convinced that God feels your grief and understands your pain because He too experienced the death of a child. And I believe that God is the Source of our healing when we experience traumatic and dramatic events in our lives.

In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 11, verse 28, Jesus says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” I believe that in this particular Scripture, Jesus is asking us to bring all our hurt, all of our pain, all of our unspeakable grief, all of our anger, all of our rage, all of our sadness, all of our tears to Him and He will restore healing and peace to our hearts and to our souls, if we let Him. There is no burden that is too hard or too heavy for Jesus Christ to carry for us and to heal us from.

When a parent loses a child, I believe that there is not a day that goes by when you don’t think about your child. What helps me when one of my loves goes home to be with the Good Lord is remembering the sweet times and the quiet moments that we shared, which have me smiling and crying at the same time. Yes, I miss my love, but I am forever grateful to God for allowing my life to be touched by such a precious, beautiful light. And I hope you feel blessed to have had the privilege to love a child, who in return loved you back. What a gift.