The Lord is Good

Before work, and on a break, I try to find a Bible verse that I can take hold of and repeat to myself as I do mindless work, or am dealing with a frustrating customer. Today was particularly slow; I spent three hours doing little besides buttoning and zipping coats. I have had some wonderful prayer times at this job - praying for anyone and anything that comes to mind.

Today, the verse I clung to was

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
    sing to his name, for it is pleasant!  Psalm 135:3 

I came home to a snowy yard, and stew that my mother had made. We turned on the news to be flooded with Sandy Hook coverage. Is anyone else finding it challenging to watch? I can't listen to a parent, a student, even a community member without tearing up. 

The newscaster just said this may be the greatest tragedy on American soil since 9/11. I was just barely ten years old that day when we watched the towers fall, and although I knew it was bad, I could not possibly understand the magnitude or repercussions that were still to come. 

Now, however, I understand very well. I spent all summer coaching little girls not unlike many of the victims - girls who loved Dora and pink and butterflies and pretty leotards. Girls who still walked on tip toe just for fun and had mom doing their hair and gave me endless hugs. Girls who could be gone in an instant, just for being dropped off at school one day. I just can't imagine what Newton is going through. 

Newton is the second worst school shooting in history; Virginia Tech is first. Some are saying Sandy Hook is arguably worse, because of the age of so many of the victims. Many ethicists would say they are correct. There is an argument that the tenet of killing that makes it wrong is loss of future. A child of six has a greater loss of future than a student of eighteen. Of course, both are tragic. 

And somehow, even as I weep for this community, that verse is in my head, because God is still good. I recall Aaron Keyes' song, "Sovereign Over Us". In it, Keyes sings, "Even what the enemy means for evil/You turn it for our good/You turn it for our good and for Your glory/Even in the valley You are faithful/You're working for our good/You're working for our good and for Your glory". 

At the end of the day, all I have is the fact that the Lord is good, and His goodness is everlasting and unchanging. That's where my trust needs to be.