How many words are there to describe the horrific events that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown? If you used every word a hundred times, it still would not suffice. One cannot begin to imagine the overwhelming grief of the families of those who were senselessly slain. As more information becomes available, some of the initial reports must be corrected and the story re-told. It is devastating to have to hear it repeated one more time; your heart breaks over and over for the parents, grandparents, and relatives of the victims. And, yet, you know that in a few weeks or months it will be old news; but for these families it will never be over. Their lives are forever altered; their Christmas time will never be the same. The children were innocents, still babies in the eyes of the world. The adults were doing their best to protect the children. None of them were in a place where they should not have been. The shooter went out of his way to commit this heinous crime.

There are still bits and pieces of information being gleaned from various sources and the press is anxious to hear from relatives of the victims as well as relatives of the accused. So far both have requested privacy and that should be respected. Eventually, more will be told. The best thing we all can do is to pray. Pray for the families who need some kind of solace, however unlikely it may seem at this time. Pray for the children who have been imprinted with this horror and may not be able to face a classroom again. Pray for the first responders who came upon an unthinkable scene and felt helpless in its aftermath. Pray for the survivors who may feel a measure of guilt, they could not have changed a thing. This community appears to have a firm resolve and strong faith; they are praying for one another and reaching out to try to help. They are quietly grieving together. This is not a place where drive by shootings happen. This is a place where you would want to live before this tragedy visited. Pray for this community as if you were a part of it; because, the media has made all of us a part and we can not, in good conscience, turn our back on them. Be faithful in your prayers for we are helpless to do anything more than that.