Where is God

have been unable to separate myself from the screen this evening and head to bed following my completion of today's Examen. Shorlty after I finished and said Compline, I logged onto facebook one last time. I discovered an article about a 5 year old who shot his two year old sister. He had received a kid's gun at the age of four. According to this article that is normal in parts of Kentuckey. I grew up in New Jersey and I know it was not normal there. I've exchanged some banter about guns with friend in comments on facebook since sharing the article. It is horrifying and as one person said makes her sick to her stomach.

I was wondering why I could not let go of it. I'm sure many people would read the article and find it outrageous and anger producing. It just occurred to me that was is so hard about it is to see God at work. As tragic as the Boston marathon bombing was, it was easy for me to see God's hand. People rallied together both at the time and after in the running community around the country and even around the globe. People coming together does inspire a sense of the divine. This just seems plain tragic. A family is left grieving a two year old child. There is a five year old out there whose life I just can't even begin to imagine. Who knows how the parents will go on... what kind of guilt they may feel for the rest of their lives. What good can come of this ? It is hard to fathom.

I listen to the song Immanuel, as sung by choirs of kids from around England. There is line in it that goes “and if God is with us, who can stand against us”. How can God be with us when things like this happen. I get that we as humans let it happen with our values and our political systems and all. Guns in the hands of kids are no doubt in my mind tragedies waiting to happen. I suppose I could surmise that we in our sinful state created this dynamic. That doesn't provide me with comfort or offer a means to experience God's grace in this situation. I suppose faith would determine that even if I can't see God at work, I still know that God is there. Sometimes it is hard to know that.