"Twelve-Fourteen" Remembering and Bringing Comfort to Hearts that Grieve in Sandy Hook

Aimee Herd : Dec 14, 2017
Breaking Christian News

"When we go through difficult, dark times, that there's always hope, and there's always light around us. It's just choosing to let it in that's not always easy." -Alissa Parker

(Newtown, CT)—In the midst of the busy, joyous holiday season today is undoubtedly THE most difficult day on the calendar for the small Connecticut community known as Sandy Hook. (Photo: via victory girls blog)

Today is "Twelve-fourteen" in Newtown vernacular—the anniversary of the day Adam Lanza burst into Sandy Hook Elementary school and gunned down 26 people, 20 of them just children between 6 and 7-years-old.

Articles detail the struggles of parents and family members to cope with such a horrific loss, and even those who did not lose someone that day, feel the sadness so deeply just the same.

In May of this year, Caroline Bologna—reporting for the Huffington Post—interviewed one of the Sandy Hook parents; Alissa Parker, who—with her husband Robbie—lost their precious 6-year-old Emilie in the massacre.

Alissa has written a book that began as an effort for their two other daughters, Emilie's younger sisters. The book "An Unseen Angel" is her way to "let the world know that their story did not end on the worst day of their lives," and documents some of the many "acts of kindness" shown to them, as well as how healing has come about.

"There's so much negativity and darkness surrounding what happened at Sandy Hook, and this was a whole different perspective," says Alissa in the article, "It's the lighter side, the side that shows how good humanity is. And I just wanted to share that with people." (Photo: Parker family-Emilie Parker far right/via Huffington Post)

"I was with a large group of people who were all grieving from the same exact moment," she recalled. "We had all different faiths, all different experiences, and we yearned to learn from each other and hear what the other had experienced, what worked for them, what they believed. All those barriers just broke down."

Since Emilie's birthday is just before Mother's Day, the Parkers found a special way to bring joy back into those events instead of just grieving their way through...

The Parkers tend to go away as a family around Mother's Day. On Emilie's birthday, they try to do something she enjoyed, like going to the beach, and the mom usually gives each of her girls something that belonged to their big sister, states the HuffPost article.

"Because they were so young when she died, I put away a lot of her toys and things she had into these little boxes for the girls," explained Alissa in the article. "So when it's her birthday, I pull something out that she would've wanted them to have, that's age appropriate for the season in their lives."

As I mentioned before, the tragedy of Sandy Hook hit all Americans hard—especially those of us who are parents. I remember being overcome with sadness upon hearing about it just after it happened.

But during that same time, the Lord also gave me a song with words of comfort specifically for the parents of the children who died. It helped to ease the sorrow then, and five years later, can maybe help to bring a little light to those finding it still so difficult to cope with the reality of such an atrocity. (Photo: Sandy Hook memorial/via NBC Connecticut)

To them, perhaps Alissa Parker's book may help, and I also offer those words of healing again now:

Twenty Angels are Dancing
(by Aimee Herd)

Halfway through December, two thousand and twelve
From a regular Friday to the darkness of Hell
Just a young, troubled boy—for reasons unclear
Stormed into the classrooms and unleashed a fear
Given over to evil and hatred inside
That day taking twenty innocent lives

Twenty angels are dancing in Heaven tonight
Pulled from such darkness, brought into the Light
With each little last breath, the Savior's strong arms
Carried with pure love away from the harm

Hearts that are breaking on hearing the news
Try waking this nightmare; it cannot be true
Mothers' arms aching in empty embrace
Dads' minds filled with sorrow, long the day to erase
'Neath trees and menorahs gifts still wrapped, remain
With each family we all grieve, hearts feeling their pain

Twenty angels are dancing in Heaven tonight
Pulled from such darkness, brought into the Light
With each little last breath, the Savior's strong arms
Carried with pure love away from the harm

Will hope again fill where it had been known?
How will come comfort? By God's grace alone
Trusting the unseen for each little soul
Lovingly He is restoring them whole
Hand holding hands, no longer in fear
A smile, a wave, and joy for the tears

Twenty angels are dancing in Heaven tonight
Pulled from such darkness, brought into the Light
With each little last breath, the Savior's strong arms
Carried with pure love away from the harm

Carried with pure love away from the harm.