Christina Taylor Greene, Age 9
U.S. District Judge John Roll, 63
Gabe Zimmerman, 30, Giffords' director of community outreach.
Dorwin Stoddard, 76, a pastor at Mountain Ave. Church of Christ.
Christina Greene, 9, a student at Mesa Verde Elementary.
Dorthy Murray, 76.
Phyllis Scheck, 79.
I have been trying to make sense of all that has happened since Saturday. Especially the loss of little Christina. I happen to have a daughter 9 years of age, born in the Spring of the year of the 9/11 tragedy. When I look at my own daughter's face I see Christina's face. .... Some things have been going on in my own life and I have been trying to stay positive and focused ... hence my trying to be upbeat post made early this morning. My feelings concerning my own issues remind me that we each of us have our trials and disappointments in life. But what is it that gets someone through the hard times? Why does one person make it through their time of trial without breaking down or snapping, while another like Jared Loughner goes off the deep end? Goes off the deep end and in a worse case scenario winds up taking the lives of others?
I think that the answer is "isolation" and "loneliness" ... The ones that weather their storms have support in one form or another. Something that tells them that they are worthy of love, that they are cared for, that they are not alone. Isolation and loneliness can be powerful and haunting demons during times of trial. Maybe if we take nothing else away from this terrible tragedy and loss of life this past Saturday, January 8th 2011, it is that we all need to make a honest effort to search out those in our communities who have been lost and neglected and let them know that they are NOT alone. That they are cared for and worthy of love. Love can not only move mountains: it can stop a gun from firing into a crowd of innocent people.
God Bless you little Christina and all of those who have lost their lives in this tragedy. God Bless those still recovering in the hospital. May you continue to heal and return to your own families quickly. God Bless all of the families who have lost loved ones or have loved ones recovering in the hospital. God Bless all who were witnesses firsthand to the shooting. God Bless Senator Gabrielle Giffords. May her body continue to heal and may she defy the odds, living to return to a near normal life ... a witness to the power of God, our Creator, a reminder that we all need to step outside of ourselves more often and look to the needs (i.e, not just the material needs, but also the social and emotional needs) of others in our schools, neighborhoods, churches, and other communities. If we do nothing else, let us PRAY ... even pray for the man who pulled the trigger on the gun this past Saturday, Januray 8th, 2011: Jared Loughner.
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