As I think about the events of the week....I look at this verse for the day I see in front of me from I Peter 5:10.  Lord, is the NLT version what You intended?  Is it necessary for us to suffer as a rule ........ to "make it"?  Is this a requirement?  Do You expect us to "grin and bear it" for the lot of it?  How do we diffuse the anger and sadness that ensues after a tragedy?  How do we believe that "all things work together for our good" when we watch the enduring injuries some suffer throughout their life.....even doing our best to wear their pain as much as we can if we are blessed to have escaped some of the carnage other's experience.  How can we help?  How can we understand what seemingly cannot be understood?  Jesus.....Savior of the world.....I am blessed and I praise You for the safety I have been provided throughout my days.  I just flew through the skies from Philadelphia to Detroit to Indianapolis a few days ago.  A miracle to behold.  How in the world does that work?  You have provided the absolutely unbelievable conveniences for us as Your creations.  I have been the beneficiary of so much blessing.  I do not take it for granted.  But, You know what, Lord?  I believe I do on occasion.  I guess I am not alone.  All of us, have a tendency to.....until a fateful phone call or a doorbell brings an unwanted bit of news.  Often, Lord....I find myself slightly unsettled knowing that life as I know it could change very quickly.  So.....getting back to my original questions.....how do I speak about what we have experienced as a country?  With grace?  With the tenets of the scriptures such as the verse I referred to. The words from the NLT say to any of us who read it...."In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus.  So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation."  Lord, verse after verse after verse, tells us similar information.  We have believed for a long time that Your word is a divine tool You have given to us for guiding us into all of Your truth.  Now, understandably, I don't comprehend a good bit of it.  So many of us see Your "truth" differently.  And, of course, we tend to believe our way of thinking is "the right way".......(Who?  Me?)  I have learned along the way to listen to other's.  You lead us "into all truth"......I believe that.....and how I understand is up to You. My soul looks to You, Lord.....from where ALL I should understand and know and discuss.....comes from. 
I will listen.  I will believe that You are not a masochist.  I believe it does not give You pleasure to see us suffer....scrambling to make sense out of what has happened to us and struggling to find a new normal in our lives. 
I am waiting patiently to welcome a new grandson into our family.  He will be welcomed with love and kisses and a mother and dad and sister that are waiting anxiously for him.
Our hearts are blessed, Lord....to just be alive today....and to be able to breathe and enjoy the blessings we have.....no matter how little or how many! 
Help me not to let You down.  Someone may need me.  Help me to be Your instrument.  On the highways and byways, You need us to be mindful of the needs we can fulfil for another.  Give me wisdom.....just Yours, Lord.  And....Your strength to perform any duty You have for me.
I pray in the name of Jesus.  Amen.