Random Thoughts on a Tragedy

1. I'm not a parent, so I can only imagine the depth of love that a parent feels for his/her child.  I was, however, a "pseudo-parent" (aka a nanny, babysitter, you pick the word)  for 2 awesome kids quite a few years ago.  And though I haven't been a direct part of their lives for a long time, I still feel a connection to those two, and yes, I can say I love them.  And I have parents and I know they love me with a deep and profound love.  So maybe I do have some small inkling of parental love.
   
   That being said, I can't imagine that telling parents their children were taken/killed/murdered because "God wanted another angel" would be the right thing to say.  (I don't know if anybody out there has said this in this instance, but I've heard it used before as statement of sympathy.)  It would take a profoundly religious person with an extremely deep rooted faith to find comfort in that statement.  - And frankly whose faith isn't tested and shaken by events like yesterday's?  
   
   I would think that statement would be met with "Doesn't God realize that I need my child? That my child needs me?  How could he be so utterly mean and selfish?"  That's how, if I were a parent, I would respond to it.   So unless you're prepared with valid answers to those valid, tough questions, I wouldn't try to comfort a grieving parent (or anyone for that matter) with the statement that God needs another angel.
   
2. I did see this statement out there on Facebook on one of the many memorial/support for the families posts that are out there.  I don't remember what the original comment was, but someone posted a comment in reply that "Your God allowed this to happen."
   
   No.  God doesn't allow things like this to happen. To tie in with thought number 1 and to give a simple answer to those questions - Yes God knows you need your child and that your child needs you.  He is not, at least in this case, a mean and selfish God.  He is weeping and mourning with us.
   
   Yes this awful thing happened and it may seem like God did allow it happen.  He's God after all, He's all powerful, and He could have stopped it.  But God gave us humans a little thing called free will.  We are free to do, to think, to believe whatever and however we want.  Think about it, if God wanted to control us and to not allow us to do or think certain things, do you think He would "allow" unbelievers to not believe in Him?  In this instance God is a selfish and jealous God - He doesn't want us to believe in other gods or not believe at all.  But yet, He does - He allows us to.  He is not a giant puppet master up there in the sky pulling strings and making (or allowing) people to do certain things and not do others.  He gives us the choice.  He gives us the freedom.  He gives us free will.
   
   And unfortunately, there are people in this world who use that free will to do horrible horrible things.  I don't understand it; I can't even begin to comprehend why a person would do such a thing. But for some unfathomable reason, people do; this guy did.  And God, I like to think, doesn't understand it anymore than the rest of us do.