Evil exists but does not have the last word

I’ve seen video covers in the Blockbuster stores – the kind that you glance at for a second and quickly turn away.  I’ll just mention dental torture and leather face masks – get the picture.  There are sections I skip over in novels to avoid creating disturbing images in my mind – those descriptive words used to relate what dire circumstances are about to befall the characters I’ve grown to care about.  I won’t watch one particular TV show where the protagonist goes to great lengths to inflict insurmountable pain on his victims.  These behaviors are indicative of a struggle that I think we all have.  I’m not talking about just being frightened.  That’s part of it, but beyond that, I think we enter into an awareness that pure evil exists.  This is an unsettling experience we work to avoid.  We can’t always.  Newtown is one of those times.  It is so horrendous, that I find myself being willing to go only so far in my thoughts and emotions.  I can do that because I’m watching from a distance.  There have been times in my life when I didn’t have that luxury. One thing I know is true, while pure evil does exist and the pain and trauma it brings are not to be minimized or disregarded, evil does not have to have the last word.  We have the power of the One behind us who can and will bring life out of the ashes.  Those whom we love depend on it and the Evil One deserves nothing less. May we all pray toward that end for the families who have unwillingly been catipulted into the battle between good and evil.