On Friday as the details of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut unfolded, my best friend was preparing for her youngest daughter’s 7th birthday party that same afternoon–the age of so many of the victims. Both she and I put on a brave face for the party, but it was so painful to see those young, sweet faces laughing and smiling without a care in the world and to know the horror that others just like them had not survived earlier in the day.

To say that we, as a nation, are all sickened, shocked, and heartbroken that such a tragedy has occurred yet again is an understatement. Knowing how to wrap one’s mind and heart around what has happened is a challenge and is something with which we will struggle for a long time to come.

As these grieving families and the whole Newtown community bury their children, teachers, and school administrators (as well as the shooter and his mother) this week, we at TADP invite everyone to take a moment to tell those we care about that we love them, to pray for all victims of violence as well as those who commit such horrible acts and their devastated families, and to reflect on how, moving forward, we can honor these lives taken so tragically.

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