Caution! Religious Content!

So, on our way home from church today, my husband mentioned that he'd heard something about another shooting happening today.  My heart sank since this shooting is coming so rapidly on the heels of the Aurora, Colorado shooting.  There was indeed a shooting this morning, in a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.  My first thought was, "Why are there so many crazy people these days?" Many times the first inclination is to blame the media or video games or political parties, but I disagree with that.  In the case of adults, I think there is no one to blame but the shooter.  Not gun control policies, not their parents, not their therapists.  Every person has the right to choose for themselves.
Unfortunately, other peoples' decisions effect the lives of people around them.  But this is the purpose of life here on this earth.  To be tested and prove ourselves worthy to be called God's Own.  How can we be tested if nothing bad ever happens to us?  Although it breaks my heart when I see children suffer and die, when I see injustice in this world, I think to myself, "What am I going to do about it?" In some cases, the answer is nothing.  Sometimes there is nothing you can do about tragedy, except learn to  find peace amidst the storms of life. 
I heard a quote that says something to the effect of, "Internal peace cannot be dependant on your external circumstances." So even though horrible things are happening in the world, we don't have to stir ourselves up in anger or sorrow, especially over things that we cannot change.  We can do our part to help out and share our opinions, but we don't have to let the ills of the world create a home in our hearts.  We can have peace knowing that all wrongs will be righted and all injustices that happen in this world will be corrected, either in this life, or the life to come.  Of course all of this depends on your belief system.  I find great comfort in my spirituality. 
This leads me to another thought.  A brother at church today shared a thought with the congregation.  He said that as he watched the news and the weather and heard about the droughts and the hardships around the country, he was reminded of how God has punished nations in the past and that we, as a country, have forgotten our religious heritage.  He challenged us all to encourage our neighbors to read their holy books, be it the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, etc.  We need to be reminded of our relationship with God and how much we need Him in our lives.  A lot of what he said rang true to me, and I think I need to be more conscious of the people around me and encourage them to find a greater spirituality. Obviously I would love for everyone to be at my church, but I think most churches are good and teach truth.  Peace can be as contagious as anger.  If more people developed internal peace, I think the world as a whole would be a better place.