Ruth Chesney

Appalling. Dreadful. Distressing. Callous. Sickening. All words used in official statements to describe the Manchester bombing earlier this week when twenty-two people lost their lives and many more were injured. The world is reeling from the senseless loss of life, and the manifestation of desperate wickedness in the hearts of men. It has touched many to hear of children and young people killed, and we’ve watched in dread as pleas for information about missing people from distraught relatives have ended in announcements of their death. Tears have been shed, and many more are yet to be shed. So much pain, so much tragedy. A sample of the countless tears shed across this groaning world through all the ages. Wars and genocide. Gang violence and drug wars. Billions killed by man’s inhumanity to man. And, in the numbers, each one an individual with their own story. A bright, ambitious son killed during protests in Venezuela. A beautiful teenage daughter kidnapped and murdered in Mexico. Pa