Note: This was written the day after the Boston Marathon bombing, 2013

Why am I discouraged? What is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again – my Savior and my God! [Psalm 42:5 (NLT)]

Lord, I’m angry! Where were you when the bombs exploded yesterday? Where were you when the twin towers fell, or when people were shot in the theater or when children died in their school? I’m angry and discouraged because I don’t understand how our almighty and loving God can allow these terrible things to happen. I know I’m supposed to have faith and trust in you, but it is so difficult in times like these.

Thank you, God, for loving and forgiving me even when I have difficulty loving, forgiving, and even believing in you.

I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining. I believe in love, even when I feel it not. I believe in God, even when he is silent.[Words found scrawled on a cellar wall in the bombed ruins of Cologne, Germany, following World War II]