The world has really been grieving a lot of heartache lately. 49 dead in Orlando. Famous singers getting shot and killed. Another terrorist attack in Istanbul. Shootings left and right. It makes you angry, doesn’t it? There seems to be no end to the acts of violence in the world.

I had to turn off the news the other night because I couldn’t bare to hear another word of it. I was upset, angry, confused, and hurt. Innocent lives have been suffering the worst kind of pain, and I’ll never understand why bad things can happen to good people. But I DO know that we don’t have to live in fear. We have something so much better. It’s called faith.

We need to rely on faith, love, and hope to hold us together. We grieve and send condolences by saying, “Saying Prayers for you and your family” but do we do it enough? I don’t mean sitting in church every minute of the day asking these tragedies to stop, or sending endless cards and flowers to families of victims. I mean that it would be life changing to see everyone, no matter what religion, take a few minutes of every day, and simply talk to God. Not in anger, not in doubt, just hope. Praying for a new and better tomorrow is something we have a privilege of doing, and we should do it more often.

We can be heartbroken for families that are going through tough times. I know we can feel selfish about complaints we might have after hearing about the tragedies that have happened. Maybe you complained because your favorite band sold out and you couldn’t get a ticket for the concert. Maybe you didn’t get enough likes on your Instagram photo, or you didn’t get the discount you wanted while shopping. It can be hard to admit these complaints, but we tend to forget that we do have a right to be happy. So, we need to appreciate the things that make us happy. We need to hold onto the people that give us that happiness and love as well. We never should miss a chance to tell someone how much they mean to us. Sadly, we don’t ever know when we will see them next.

We never know what the future holds. We aren’t sure when ISIS will attack next, when there will be another shooting, or if the world will ever be at peace. It’s unfair to live every day being afraid of the world, so why should we? Our lives would be so peaceful if we actually enjoyed the little things in life. So, we need to laugh a little and love a lot more. We have to at least try not to hold grudges and fight to hold on to faith. Living our lives with joy, not fear is simply not practiced enough.

Lastly, what we really need to start doing is living as Jesus would, by “loving our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31)." He wants us to turn the other cheek. He wants us to know that we are loved, that we are one. Also, that we don’t have to be afraid. By being scared of the possibilities of what can happen, it takes our freedom away. Our minds are so occupied with thoughts about every tragedy that has occurred this year and it takes up a lot of our attention and time, which are two things we could put toward positive thoughts. Jesus wants our faith to be bigger than our fear. His words, his teachings? THAT is what sets us free.

He is the reason I feel safe. He is the reason I have hope. He’s the strength all of us need during these times, but the question is: Will we accept it from Him?