Like many of you, I was troubled by the news stories about the shootings that have taken place in our country this last week.  But today as I was looking at the various news feeds,  I came across one penned by one of my favorite authors, Max Lacado.  You can find his entire story at https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/max-lucado-el-paso-dayton-and-more-how-are-we-to-respond-to-this-dark-season-of-bloodshed but I am going to copy some excerpts here.  “More bad news. Killings in El Paso. Shootings in Ohio. All this on the heels of a violent weekend last week. All of this violence adding up to too many mass shootings in just 216 days. Is our society coming unraveled? How are we to respond to this dark season of bloodshed?Anger is the choice of many. Anger at politicians. Anger at the NRA. Anger at God. We become bitter and sour toward this world; toward one another. Fear is another option. Lock the doors and close the windows. Avoid every shadow and dark alley.Yet, do we want to be a nation of fear and anger? But what can we do?. . .Let’s pause and invite God to tell us his name. Our greatest need is his presence. Yes, we want this storm to pass. Yes, we want the winds to still. But yes, yes, yes, we want to know, need to know, and must know that the great I AM is coming. . . .Don’t let the storm turn you inward. Let it turn you upward. Listen and see if you don’t hear him say: I AM with you in the storm.”