Newtown: Acts of Kindness

(Painting by Jacques-Louis David, 1781)

There are many who have asked – not only about Newtown, but about all horrific events – where God was at the time.  How could an all-loving, all-knowing God allow such evil to occur?

This is a question that has been wrestled with

throughout the ages.  There is no one definitive

answer that we humans have been privy to – at

least not one that we all agree upon. Nevertheless,

there have been signs that the God of Love exists in even the worst of circumstances.

From the depths of Newtown's despair came an

initiative that has been gathering momentum ever

since.  NBC's Ann Curry, the morning after a trip

to Newtown, grappled with this urgent question: 

What is the answer to such national suffering?  Call it creativity or call it holy intuition – in a flash an answer came:  What if?  Imagine if everyone could commit to doing one act of kindness for every one of those children killed in Newtown.

Curry then tweeted this idea and added the following:  I'm in.  RT if you're in.  The "inbox" began overflowing with good will.  People said, "Why stop at 20 acts of kindness?  Why not add six more in memory of the adult victims at the school?"  Some added an additional one for the killer's mother.  And - with an amazing display of grace - some even suggested including one for the killer himself because "he was struggling and in pain."

Acts of kindness have so far included the following:  food bank donations; gift cards taped to random fuel pumps; 100% tips to service workers; and shoveling the driveways of elderly neighbors without accepting

payment.  Children across the nation have donated their own "widow's mite" savings to offerings like these.  Those who are still asking "Where's God?" might find out through such Acts of their own.

Resources

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/18/15999109-if-you-do-good-youll-feel-good-ann-curry-explains-origins-of-26acts-of-kindness?lite

Copyright December 24, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved