Why do bad things happen to good people? Where is God when life hurts? All week newspaper headlines have shouted their bad news to us in stark realities. "Students Massacred in Colorado." "Massacre, 25 Dead." "Gunmen laughed as they opened fire." "After the Rampage, Why?"

Until this week I had never heard of Littleton, Colorado. I watched with dismay along with our nation a terrible picture of senseless violence, innocent victims, shocked and grieving friends and families, people forever traumatized by the insanity. Truly a picture of people being in the wrong place at the wrong time, simply going about a regular day where they had felt safe, protected and among friends.

As I watched the news, I found myself praying "Oh, God" again and again. ‘Oh, God, oh God, oh God. Oh God, stop the killing. Oh God, help the children. Oh God, help them all.’ As the killing stopped, dozens were rushed to the hospital to begin fighting for their lives. Anxious parents, frantic with worry, desperately searched for their children, hoping to find them among the living. Again and again we heard the refrain "I never thought it could happen here." It made me wonder if it could happen where I live.

My prayers began to refocus, "Oh, God, help them find their children. Help those fighting for their lives. Help those fighting to save their lives. Be with the police as they search for bombs. Help them. Please help them. Please stop the killing. Please save lives." In my sense of helplessness, I prayed. Most of us probably did. Without realizing it, we prayed Psalter prayers in our fear, anger, shock and disbelief. We cried out real life needs for real people with real prayers from our hearts.

I had dinner that evening with a family who had little children. One of the parents said to me, ‘isn’t this horrible? I just want to hold my child and protect her. I just want to hug my child and keep her safe.’

I’ve realized this week that for all of us shocked and grieving from afar, and for those in the trauma, for all of us Psalm 23 helps us pray as real people, in real life, with real feelings.

Oh really? How? How can we be restored when we hurt so badly? Where is God for us in the mess? The answers I believe, may be found through the first three verses in the beloved Psalm.

One of my favorite places to pray is in Washington, DC, at the National Cathedral. A tiny room is called "the chapel of the good shepherd." In it is a very simple stone statute of Christ holding a wee lamb in his arms. The stone statue is permanently stained where hundreds of people have laid their hands on the shepherd’s hands as they have prayed for those they love, and for themselves.

One of the most tender and beautiful pictures of God in the Bible is that of Shepherd. God is our Beloved Shepherd. The tender Searcher will not rest until we are found. The Shepherd is passionately and compassionately in love with us.

It is often a great surprise for some people to realize we are often called "sheep" in the Bible. We actually share many sheep characteristics. Like sheep, we scatter in fear and run for our lives. Like sheep, we are vulnerable to attack from predators and need protection. Like sheep, we may not always be able to protect our little lambs from harm. Jesus actually said in the New Testament (Lk 10:3) that we need to live wisely, as sheep among wolves. Life has many dangers. People get hurt.

Time heals. Some healing cannot be rushed. The Good Shepherd restores our souls through inviting us to linger in God’s lush, green pastures and still waters in unhurried time together. The Shepherd knows all the sheep by name and searches for the lost, the strayed, the injured, the frightened, crippled and weak.

All of us have had sudden moments of fear and a sense of danger. One student this week said it very well. "One moment I was eating lunch with my friends, the next thing I’m thinking is, Oh my God, I’m gonna die." We have these moments while driving in our cars, through natural disasters and freak accidents. Suddenly our lives just flash in front of us and we realize life can be snuffed out in a moment.

Our souls become traumatized and injured. We need to be restored. Healing cannot be rushed. It takes time to recover. Sometimes we will go through life with a permanent limp or scar to remind us of the past event. Healing can take a lifetime even with God.

Years ago I had a poster on my office wall with the words "God restores my soul." The poster showed a dancer on a beach at sunset. The dancer had uplifted arms and was dancing a joyous love song, a natural rhythm with the rest and movement.

God wants to restore us to wholeness.

The Shepherd is inviting us into the greatest of all romances and to dance a love song together.

I heard a wonderful story recently about two lovers who had been dancing together for decades. People loved to watch them dance. The dancers looked deeply into each other’s eyes as they danced. They danced with and without words, with rest and movement, to music of all kinds, through the joys and sorrows of their lives. Their eyes looked into each other’s face. God gives us a beautiful face to gaze into as our Good Shepherd.

God, the tender Searcher invites us to linger and rest to restore our souls. We need rhythms of rest, of spiritual nourishment, for our soul care. We need quality time for soul restoration through lingering in scriptures, prayer, with our Beloved Shepherd to recover from when life hurts.

We also need these lingering times with God as our beloved Shepherd to build trust and confidence in our Guide and Comforter. Then we will find ourselves equipped for whatever may happen to ourselves and those we love. As our souls are restored, we will find ourselves dancing again.

Some of the Shepherd’s green pastures and still waters for our soul food and drink can be found and prayed through all the Psalms. They are worth reclaiming for our spiritual renewal. They are good for our souls. They help us be real people, with real prayers, with our real feelings, when life is beautiful and when life is difficult.

There is a saying "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." Others may use an expression "when the rubber hits the road." When the going gets tough, when the rubber hits the road, when we lack for words in prayer as we cry out to God, the Psalms are truly "great stuff" to help us in our times of need.

Psalm 23 helps us live well and die well. Whatever life may bring, we know God is with us.

As Colorado is grieving and burying their dead, many will be lingering in these powerful words. Many will be in shock, totally numbed by the events. They will be too deep in grief to think and are simply going through the motions. Many will be weeping in the funeral services and memorials. Many will be crying out, "Why?" Why did this happen? Why was I spared? Why didn’t we see any warning signs? Why is there so much hate? Why couldn’t God have stopped this? Where was God when this happened?

We may never get the answers to our questions. Truly we live in a world that is broken and twisted with sin and evil. Kosovo is a far away country as an example of war, hatred, violence and destruction. The killings in Colorado are an example much to close to home.