Like you, my jaw dropped this morning when I heard what happened in Las Vegas, and like you my heart is broken.  I’m angry.  I’m frustrated.  I can’t believe this is real.  But in the midst of feeling all these feelings that naturally come after hearing news of terror, I’m feeling something that else that make the anger and frustration all the worse.  I feel like this is normal—like I’m accustomed to these feelings.  I’m not okay with that.

I’m not okay with terror being routine news.

Being exposed to something over and over again creates a callousness that we should never feel when life is extinguished—especially the way it was last night.

Maybe the best thing we can do in the face of terror like what happened last night is to fully allow ourselves to feel it.  Weep.  Lament.  Let your heart be angry.  Really angry.  Obviously not to the point where we’re no longer in control of our actions, but a righteous, this-cannot-stand anger.  Don’t let the frequency of senseless violence allow your heart to quickly move past it.  Don’t push those feelings away.

We live in a society that wants to quickly medicate any discomfort.  But some things need to be fully felt today so they can drive us to become better tomorrow.

Let it drive you to hug your kids, reconcile silly disputes with family members, give more grace to your spouse.  Let it spur you on to be more kind than ever to the strangers you encounter.  Let it push you to love deeper and to be more present in every moment you are given to live this life.

The reality we all face is that nowhere we go is safe anymore.  Maybe it never was.  That’s sobering, and there isn’t much we can do to change that right now.  But we can use this moment to feel what we need to feel in order to create a brighter tomorrow for those we love.