Thank you to Taryn who posted a  comforting perspective of the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting and how that impacts us while celebrating Christmas. This excerpt is from her blog, Waiting on God:

Our world is dark with mourning. Our tears won’t stop. Parents and non-parents have ruptured hearts. Americans’ and non-Americans’ spirits are heavy. All of us grieve. The heart of the Great I Am grieves more than any of us.

The heart of the One who created those precious lives lost in Connecticut and loved them with an unfathomable love.

The heart of the One who holds them tight right now. Next week, we will try to celebrate Christmas. How can we celebrate anything ever again?

The scene Jesus entered 2,000 years ago was also bleak. He came into an inky black world. His brilliant light shone even brighter against the backdrop of pervasive darkness, piercing it and scattering it. It still can. (Read more on Taryn’s blog.)

Bio: Taryn Hutchison served on staff with Cru for 21 years at four campuses in the US and two countries in Eastern Europe. She  currently works at Lenoir-Rhyne University.

Taryn’s book, We Wait You,  is her engaging and humorous story of life and faith in Eastern Europe as she, and other Christians, experienced the fall of the Iron Curtain.

NOTE: The original image is available on Fickr’s Creative Commons.