27,000 Children

As most people seemed to be, I was shocked and saddened to hear about the tragedy in Newton, Connecticut this past Friday. That night I was feeling overwhelmed for those who had to experience the horrors and for the families of those who died. It is a devastating loss. Almost every post I read on Facebook had to do with the events that took place and the understandable emotions that we were all feeling. But something didn't sit right with me.

In the past few months I have been working my way through this book. I just finished reading a chapter called 'One Hundred Crashing Jetliners.' The premise was that whenever a plane crashes, it makes the news. And yet, nearly 27,000 children die A DAY of preventable causes related to poverty and we almost never hear about it. This was fresh in my mind as I heard about what happened on Friday.

I get it. It is easier to feel things when it happens close to home. We can relate. It affects us. It's all over the media. Children dying of hunger, malaria, lack of clean water... that generally happens to people far away and we can't relate. I have met some of these people and I still forget. Days go by and it doesn't cross my mind. It's a truth I'm not proud of.

So what does that mean? As our pastor put it this morning, it means repentance. Repentance for not thinking about the poor and doing enough to help them, while I focus on acquiring more stuff and being comfortable. It means taking a long and hard look at my life and being intentional about making choices that help those in need, instead of focusing on me. I love the now famous prayer, prayed by Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision... "Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God." That means the loss of innocent children in the United States, AND the loss of innocent children around the globe. None of them should suffer.

While people debate gun laws and media coverage, I want to look at myself and ask, what can I do to help those who are suffering and prevent senseless tragedy that happens day after day. And I want to put in the hard work of not forgetting so that it will cause me to act and make a difference. The posts about the killings in Connecticut will soon disappear and it will eventually leave the minds of those of us not directly affected. It's just what happens. But tomorrow 27,000 children will die that shouldn't, and the next day 27,000 more will die. The good news it the number has been decreasing in recent years but it's obviously not good enough. I pray that I would not forget and that I would do my part each day until that statistic no longer exists. God help us!