July 20, 2012 was turning out to be a great day for me! At
around 3 am I was walking out to my car after just watching one of my favorite
movies for the first time. I got to bed at about
3:30, and had to be up at 7:00 am, but I did not care one bit! At about 8:00 I
was on my way to work, and I heard the radio host talking about a shooting at
Batman. At first I thought they were just talking about a scene in the movie,
but when I got to the office and check my email, I discovered that it was something
much worse. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, 12 people were killed and
another 58 were injured! What is this world coming too? How does something like
this happen?
As months went by the sting of this terrifying event seemed
to diminish some what and the world seemed to be moving on. But then last week the world
was turned upside down once again. This time I was sitting in my office at
work, when I heard some people in the office next to me talking about how over
20 children had been shot in an elementary school. My heart sank, and I the
feeling of sorrow, confusion, frustration, hate, and anger came back to me
again. I kept asking myself how something like this happens. This time of year
is supposed to be a time of joy and peace on earth, a time when people go out
of their way to help others, and a time of giving, not taking. I felt guilty that in a few weeks I would be giving and receiving gifts with my family, when so many families had just had their children taken from them.
I did what I’m sure a lot of people did, I began to question
God, and why he would let something like this happen. Why would a God that is
so loving allow his sweet innocent children to leave the world in such an awful
way? Why do these shooting keep happening? Why would he allow these families to suffer so much? After a
few minutes of bouncing these dismal thoughts through my head I was reminded of
Christmas song. A song that I didn't even really know existed until a few years
ago. I immediately grabbed my phone, and looked up the lyrics. The words of this
beautiful song pierced my heart, and I instantly felt a great peace and calming
feeling come over me. My mind was calm, and I knew that God was still there,
and that He is still our loving Heavenly Father. I once again understood why these things happen, and how "all things are done in wisdom of him who knoweth all things". (2 Nephi 2:24)
The song I was reminded of was “I Heard the Bells on
Christmas Day” and here are the profound and inspiring lyrics.
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."
Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
Through this experience, and these horrific tragedies, I was
once again reminded that bad things are going to happen, and sometimes even things
that seem unbearable will happen to us in our lives. But no matter how bad
things get, good will always overcome
evil. I love the line in this song “God is not dead, nor doth he sleep; The
wrong shall fail, the right prevail”. Good will always win! I was also reminded that
God is real, and he is aware of us. He loves us so much that he gives us our
agency, and promises not to get in the way, but He does help and comfort
us. He doesn't leave us alone. Jesus Christ was born and came into the world to help us in times of need such as these.
Christmas is a wonderful time to remember the good things in
life, and even though there is so much bad going in the world, there is also so
much good going on! Since these experiences I have been trying to find the good, and I believe if we all do this our world can "revolve from night to day", and we can experience the peace and joy our Father in Heaven wants to us to experience. Merry Christmas!
