What’s in the News?

And here is the news for this day, my 72nd birthday. A terrorist killed four people in London; a man drove from Maryland to New York in order to kill a perfect stranger whose only “sin” was found in the color of his skin. A young Jewish boy living in Israel was arrested for making numerous telephone threats to Jewish schools, synagogues, and community centers; two homes in Avalon destroyed by fire; a Virginia man is accused of robbing two banks in this area.  
You might want to cover your head and go straight back to bed after a perusal of the morning headlines or tweets or news feeds. But oh what a mistake that would be because then you would miss all the “other” things which are happening in this same wonderful but beleaguered world in which we make our home.
Did you see the story about the nurse from Cape Regional who just returned from a surgical mission to Haiti? How about the men from Court House Methodist who are currently preparing for their umpteenth trip down to the same country where they have been building new floors on an orphanage and school.
I hope you saw the stories of policemen and firemen who risked their lives to save local residents. Churches operating food pantries; Family Promise helping “down-on-their-luck families” find a path to independence; Habitat for Humanity organizing and building new  homes for families to put down roots; students raising money for pediatric cancer  and other second grade students visiting and singing at Brookdale (an assisted living home) are all events going on right under our noses.
Oh my goodness, my head is swimming from the good news of this day I was born on so long ago! I was born at the tail end of a war that swept up the whole world, but as we can readily see, God is still alive and well in spite of the weeping He must do over our rejection of the goodness His love offers us.
I believe that happy birthday songs – off key, and as loud as a 2-year-old with a new tune which I heard this morning, make Him smile as they do me. The cake and candles, homemade by my husband, the hugs and cards, and greetings from friends are enough to convince me that if all one sees in the world is the evil, and then perhaps he needs to change his seat and look in a different direction.  That isn’t being a Pollyanna; it is just being in charge of where his focus lies.
At 72, there are a few things I know for sure (not as many as I used to think) and this is one of them. I learned it long ago in a little church in the Louisiana woods:
Jesus loves me this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little one to Him belong,
They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me …
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From the Bible:  Christ said: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33