Early Easter Morning Reflections

For those of you that really know me, you would know that I am not an extremely religious person.  I do not go to church very often and have never really read the Bible.  I was baptised in the Catholic church and after making my first holy communion and reconciliation I really did not frequent church service or Sunday school.  Most weekends my church pew was a hard silver bench in the dugout of some softball field in the greater Chicago land area.  I spent half the year traveling with my softball team on the weekends and the other half of the year was either spent at a swim meet, or when I got old enough, working at good old Woodfield Mall.

With that little bit of background knowledge in place, I am a very strong believer in God and of the higher power that he holds.  And even though I do not frequent a church I talk to God on a regular basis.  I believe He works miracles everyday and that if you speak to him He will listen.  I believe my Grandfather is living proof that God listens when we speak to him.

The one bit of wonder that I always have is this.  In a world where we do believe in such a wonderful higher power, why do such sad things happen to people who do not deserve them?  This thought has come over me tonight (or this morning, seeing as it is after 1 am) because I found out tonight that my school was broken into and vandalised this weekend.  The screens were cut out of windows, classrooms were left in disarray, computers smashed, paints busted open and profanity written on boards.  Granted I have not seen this yet.  I received an email from my principal regarding what has happened.  When I read the email, I had to keep myself from crying.  Who does something like that?  Who breaks into an elementary school to destroy what is the only safe haven that some children have?  Why would someone want to take that joy and innocence away from children?  What did they do deserve to have their things destroyed?  I am lucky to say that my room was not one of the places where this damage occurred.  How though, when something like this happens, do we restore that sense of security that we have worked so hard to provide for our children each day?  Some of these children come from homes with violence, poverty, and extreme instability and the one place that they find safety, comfort and a sense of routine is at school.  When things like this happen I feel like the kids lose some of that.  Granted not all kids come from situations like that, but where I work I know that there are plenty that do. 

So my prayers on this Easter are with my friends, family and children.  May they all find themselves surrounded today by love and may God watch over them.  Keep all of us safe and bring unto us that sense of security and love in a world that does not always make sense.

Happy Easter to all!

Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness.  ~Floyd W. Tomkins