Finding Peace

My kids go to Columbine High School.
8 years ago, when Columbine was made infamous through the world, our community was heartbroken. My children were younger and didn't attend the high school at the time, but of course we were overwhelmed. There was so much to process, but I think the biggest question was WHY? Why our ward, our neighborhood? Why now? I'm not sure I ever really found the answers, but after a lot of turmoil, I found peace. Today while I am listening to the coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings, it brings lots of things back to my mind, and I thought I'd share some of the ways I found peace.

Love: Through caring people, and caring for people. Of course my family, my friends, our ward, our community. It brought peace to mourn together with those that mourned. We all gathered together and circled the wagons. People who loved us called from everywhere to make sure we were OK. One of my good friends, Brooks (who I have still never met in person!) sent flowers and an inspirational CD. We truly felt enveloped in an outpouring of love.

Scriptures: As I searched for a sense of calm, I remembered that there have always been people in the world who chose evil. And they have done much worse than what happened to our community, yet somehow, the good people of the world made it through with their faith intact. King Noah, Judas, Amalickiah, and many others all chose an evil path, yet where would we be without the testimonies and actions that came as a result of those men's actions? "All things shall work together for your good...." ALL things. not just the good things, but the bad as well.

Prayer. When it all came down to it - I prayed for peace. It didn't come immediately, but little by little, the Holy Ghost whispered to my soul that these are the times I live in, and this is what I volunteered to do in my pre-earth life. I said that I would live in these times, and that I would help strengthen others as they went through the last days as well.


There are bad people in the world, and it's going to get a lot worse, before it gets better. We are going to have to circle the wagons again - like we did 8 years ago, and before that, 150 years ago. Let's pull everyone in who wants to be included, and help each other.

There's a time to mourn, and as we mourn with our brothers and sisters who are hurting, I can see two things we could do to really help the situation. First, let's pray for them to find peace, and second, let's strengthen ourselves and each other. We bear one another's burdens because we are all brothers and sisters.