Why do I watch the news?

This morning threre’s a report from Iowa that a man who alledgedly embezzled hundred’s of thousands of dollars from a bank or co. he worked for has now apparently killed - shot his wife, four children, and having taken off in the family mini-van, ten miles later, kills himself in a fiery crash. The cops can’t even be sure it’s him because of the fire so I guess they’ll have to get dental records or something. I just sat there watching the news... and I started crying, just thinking about what that family went through. How horrible must that have been? I don’t know how old the children were or how old the wife was... It wasn’t even the first time I’ve heard of something awful like this happening. It seems that having become a parent, myself, I’m a hell of a lot more sensitive to these issues. I was never insensitive, mind you... it just causes me a whole new world of sorrow, now.

I wonder - was the family at church, yesterday? We’re the kids little and they were so happy to celebrate Easter and find eggs and their Easter baskets - not knowing what sick plan this son of a bitch had concocted in his head for them - the very next day?

I was feeling a little better about the world yesterday - watching the news. The Joshua project or whatever it’s called - their main guy Joel Rosenberg was on talking about how Iraqi’s are converting to Christianity, not by American’s - but by other Iraqi’s who were once Muslim. Apparently there’s even been a few who have had "Paul-like" conversions where they were once a Shiite terrorists and Jesus appeared to them - they had a vision - just like Paul - and Jesus talked with them and now they’re Christian/Iraqi’s. I thought, "Wow. How cool is that? The guy was out there killing Chrisitians and Jesus appeared to him - and he stopped... and is now bringing other Iraqi’s to Christ?" It made me feel good, thinking ok, sorry Lord. I get caught up in my own world here and wonder what’s going on -but you’re here and you’re there - showing up, trying to help the people over on the other side of the world. My little world is ok.. not like their’s... I felt silly to feel upset with wondering where God was or has been... and then you wake up in the morning... feeling ok for a while... and you turn on the television and watch the news... and some bastard has just slaughtered his whole family and probably himself in Iowa... great.