Praying for Charleston

I am 1,000 miles away from my beloved city, but my heart, my heart is right there. Smack dab in the midst of the chaos. There is not one single mile between my head, my heart and Charleston and its amazing people. I may physically be in Illinois, but I stand with you today, Charleston. Since I heard the news last night, my mind has not left your side.

I will never understand why awful things happen in this world. I will never understand pure and unbridled hatred and anger. Today and last night make zero sense to my rational brain. How do you make sense of an irrational hatred? An irrational response to one's hatred? And the senseless and irrational act of pure evil inflicted on innocent people? You cannot.

As I sit here, surrounded by people who may not have even heard the news or may just view it as one more sad and shocking headline, it's nearly impossible to fight tears of sadness, fear, and despair. My heart is broken for the eleven people that were part of that bible study. Although nine of them were taken suddenly and violently, we cannot forget the two that remain. Their lives, minds and hearts will be forever changed. How could they not live in fear from this day forward? How can they not replay what they saw over and over again in their already grieving minds? And how can the families and friends of the nine find answers or peace in a situation where there will most likely never be any answers? It's beyond devastating.

Will you join me in praying for Charleston, our people, and the loved ones desperately missing their family members and friends today? Will you pray for the authorities who are working around the clock to find the man, Dylann, who brought such evil and suffering to our community? Will you keep them safe and energized in your minds? Will you pray that no one else is harmed as the shooter hides out and shirks away from the consequences of his horrific actions? Will you pray he is found so justice can be served and the terror can lessen? Finding him will never undo what he did, but it will stop the panic that people feel with him on the loose.

Will you pray that somehow, some way, peace will fall on Charleston? And that this act unites a community versus divides?

God is bigger than this and He is in the midst of this. He cannot undo what has been done, but He can be a refuge in the most tragic and darkest of times. He stands with you too, Charleston, and I know His heart hurts a million times more than ours combined. He is with you. You are not alone. Nor were the eleven  who were attacked. I pray He held them close in those moments.

I love you all and I am there with you in prayer, heart and mind. I am so, so sorry. No one deserves this. No one.
#Prayingforcharleston