Hello dear Tirzah ladies! This is Alycia wanting to reach out to you ladies from across the world in regards to the mass shooting in Uvalde, TX here in the United States. Here at Tirzah, we work hard to look at modern situations from a Biblical lens. I want to talk to you about mass shootings as we all mourn the loss of young, innocent lives.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” - Revelation 21:4

This is the verse that comes to mind. The sad realty is this - it happened. We cannot go back and change it. Like so many times before with Sandy Hook, Columbine, and more, these are absolutely tragic things that happen. Our hearts mourn. We cry alongside the loss of life. Stand up for a better future.

As we do that, it is important to remember to have helpful dialogue. Throughout these past weeks, we’ve seen a lot of politicians and media say numerous things. The main conversation has been “we need more gun control” or “we need less gun control”. The reality is if you lost your child, do you think saying “I’m sorry, we need to buy more guns or get rid of guns” is helpful in any way? This is a moment for us, as women, to say we mourn with you and stand alongside of you. I cannot really give you a black or white answer on gun control and if that is our focus we’ve missed the whole point.

“…the devil comes to kill, steal, and destroy” - John 10:10

Our enemy isn’t a weapon. It’s not even a broken, sinful man who committed a horrendous crime. It is a devil who laughs in the face of this incident. He rejoices to see the lives of innocent victims lost. As Christians, our response is “to overcome evil with good”. We cannot change what happens, but we can create acts of love from our Heavenly Father while here on earth.

My friend told me a story last week in Bible study. She said there was a woman crying at work one day and she knew this woman didn’t know Jesus. The woman stated that she was having a rough time in life and my friend said she only had a moment to speak. Later that night, my friend was driving down the road and saw a car accident. The woman she had been talking to was there and died. My friend stated from that moment on she has never wasted an opportunity to extend the love of Jesus.

Her story reminds me of this mass shooting. What if you were the last person to see that teacher whose life is gone? What if you were one of the last to see the kids? The shooter talked to several people beforehand. Are you ready for a conversation like that? Are you willing to sacrifice your life for another’s? That is what we should consider in response.

Take this grief, the loss, and the destruction to fuel your fire. Don’t extinguish the hope that you have burning inside of you. Pause to love those directly in front of you. Share Jesus with those around you. You may never know when that last moment is. It’s okay to grieve right now and sit in that grief. There is an entire book in the Bible devoted to lamenting. It is OKAY to grieve.