What do we do when all we can see is the aftermath of another tragedy? The only thing we can do is look up. Look, and remember that there is coming a Rescuer who will once and for all put an end to this terrible pain. He will come sweeping across the clouds, the righteous King for whom our broken hearts yearn. He’ll silence the laughter of the wicked, put an end to the love of evil. 

I held her in my arms as my blouse absorbed her tears. Her little hands were clasped together behind my neck. I felt her exhale, then relax. Her crying ceased at last. I wanted to take all of the pain in her little heart and carry it myself. I wanted to somehow cry the tears for her. I wanted my heart to rip instead of hers. I wanted to take the sorrow that touched this child I love and run with it so that she could never again find it.

To love someone is such a beautiful and painful thing. It’s love that fills and breaks the hearts within us.

I didn’t cry while I held her. I dabbed her tears with the sleeve of my sweater. I found her favorite toy and we sat by the window together to read a book. Not for the first time, I read the story of the house where everyone was napping. I imitated the voices of the characters, exaggerating their tones and facial expressions. The tears on her face began to dry. She laughed as I bounced her up in the air when the character in our story awoke at last. She looked up at me. Her blue eyes were so young. In them I could still see traces of her tears. I smiled back, willing away the tears of my own that threatened to emerge.

It wasn’t until I was alone in my car that I finally cried. I cried because this world is broken and there’s nothing I can do to fix it. I can’t make the world a place where the ones I love no longer hurt.

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