It happened again.

And again.

And again, and again, and again… some reports are saying it’s happened a dozen times this school year alone and 300 times since Sandy Hook.

This morning, someone took gun in hand and went to a school – a school he was familiar with — and changed the lives of every teacher, student, administrator, and staff person in that building.

Tonight… at least 17 families are smaller.

Tonight… at least 17 sets of parents will have one less child to hold.

Tonight… America grieves…

…again.

WHY?

Why did we decide that the right to bear arms is more important than the right for children to attend school – or for teachers to teach school — without fearing for their lives?

Why wasn’t Columbine in 1999 enough? Or Red Lake, MN, or Nickel Mines, PA, or Sandy Hook in Newtown, CN, or Marysville, WA? And now, Parkland, FL – will it be enough?

Why didn’t this all stop with Pearl, Mississippi in 1997?

Not to mention the shootings on college campuses –both public and private.

WHEN?

When will teachers walk into a new classroom and not have to worry about, “Where will I put my students if the unthinkable happens?”

When will mothers and fathers stop burying their babies for no other reason than that they went to school that morning?

_______________________

Tonight, I am overwhelmed by the loss of more and more and more and more children and those people who try valiantly to keep them safe. My heart is breaking for parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, class mates and friends who have lost people about whom they care deeply. I am numb because it really hasn’t been that long since something similar happened in Kentucky and New Mexico.

But it isn’t just the schools anymore, is it? It’s movie theaters, restaurants, and concerts.

Have we forgotten how to appreciate the creation of God? Have we forgotten the value of human life? Is there anything that we can do to bring an end to this madness?

It’s time to solve this.

My own world view says that the true answer to this problem is God and His touch in our world. I truly believe that. Even so, He did give us brains to use, mouths to speak, and ears to hear.

With these God-given tools, we have to value humanity as God’s handiwork again. It’s time to remind ourselves that human life is a gift and that it should be treasured at every age.  We’ve got to understand that mental health issues are a very real part of this problem. And whether we like it or not, we must acknowledge that the easy availability and abundance of guns in our society are a part of the problem.

It is TIME.

It’s time to realize that as long as we remain entrenched in our own opinions and ideas, as long as we choose to believe that our way is the only way, as long as we decide that there is no room for compromise – let alone understanding of another perspective – then we are doomed to more nights where parents mourn with empty arms.

It’s time… in fact,

it’s past time.