God's Face in Tragedy

I read a post basically spitting in the face of God and those that believe in him due to the tragedy suffered in Newtown, CT. I get it...believe me I do, because I would have a hard time seeing God in such a tragic and senseless situation. I've managed to discount him for much less, but living for him also gives me a perspective that can be difficult to fathom at times.
There are 2 things I've suffered as a mother that give me slight (extremely slight) insight as to what these families (more specifically mothers) are experiencing; loss and stripped security. Now I dare not say I can even truly get to the deep of what these families are facing. I absolutely positively cannot. So that alone will make my thoughts easy to dismiss for some, but hear me out even if you choose to toss aside all that I have to say.
In 2001 I found out I was pregnant in late October/early November time frame. But Christmas day 2001 I lost that baby. I had been trying for months to get pregnant and on that day my joy turned to pain. Although I became pregnant again a month and a half later or so, I carried the loss of that first child with me for many years, without ever realizing it.
For many years I couldn't stand the Christmas holiday, although it used to be my favorite. However, I never personally made that connection with that loss.
Fast forward about 6 years later where someone at a service I attended talked about a loss they suffered and how it took their joy from them. That was a true "aha" moment in my life. That is something I may have gone my entire life never recognizing but through someone else's experience I was able to alter something in my own life.
As a parent I also lost my sense of security around the time my son was 5. He attended a daycare where I was very familiar with the staff, some who I had pretty close personal relationships with and on occassion individuals watched my child outside of school hours/days. That sense of family and security was important to us because we are a military family and we believe in building a network in order to hold our own.
Well in my son's last year of preschool, when he had been at this facility almost 4 years, we found out he was being abused by his teacher. And after connecting a few dots, we realized it had been going on for years. I worked at this school for a year. So I was onsite and there is no way you could have told me my boy was in harms way, especially by a teacher who highly praised him and seemed to favor him.  As a person who trusted almost no one with the care of her child...to know that I not only paid these people to harm my child, but worked right alongside of them while they did it was upsetting and unsettling. It caused me to question a lot and stripped me of what little security I had in being able to judge others sense of love for my children. But that was all I lost...a baby I never knew and security I never really had anyway,so in no way are either of those comparisons to what happened in CT; not even close.
What I can say about those and many other situations is that in what seems like unfair or ungodly circumstances, God can use them. I have been able to share many pieces of my life with others and there are things in my life that have been horrible, but I can give those experiences to others in need when no one else can. When no one else seems to understand what they are going through, people often come to me for counsel, because they've seen me overcome my challenges and struggles. And they see me strongly persevering new ones. I can only attribute those moments to God being a major and intricate presence in my life. I have put God down and taken him for granted, but my life was more tormented then, than anytime when God came first. That's all I can give to people are my experiences and how God has worked them out for me or those around me.
I have witnessed a mother and son fight for their lives about 2 years apart. One of my best friends was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer a few years ago. As she battled and began conquering her illness, her son was diagnosed with leukemia. It was difficult to find God in her illness alone. Watching her have to fight at such a young age, compounded with other things going on in my life, I turned my back on God. But now I'm able to see how God can use situations like that to connect people.
First off her and her son have a deep and strong bond, because they can understand things about one another's experiences that no one can begin to understand. That little boy fought alongside his mother and 2 years later she fought alongside him (and is still fighting).
I believe God gave them such a unique journey to face as a whole family, because it would be difficult to not hear out their story and it not impact your heart...your faith. Situations like that put God on a new level for some who otherwise wouldn't experience him.
Yesterday's events (in CT and in China) were awful. We have 3 children here in our home and 1 waiting for us in China. So both tragedies were a bit much for our emotions to handle. I sat and watched news coverage of the CT massacre and only by chance did I get details about China. I held my babies a bit tighter. And my heart longed for the one that is waiting. But yesterday's events helped line up some thoughts for me as a parent. We get so caught up in the day to day, and forget how precious every second is. So hopefully more parents took time to be parents and not just survivors of everyday life. That's how God shows up in tragedy. You see your children and other loved ones with new eyes. The unimportant things stop being important. You slow your pace, instead of attempting to beat the clock. And after the darkness passes, things have a new glow and shine that you likely never noticed before, because you were too busy just passing through life.
I believe that God can use the experiences of these families to make an impact. To touch so many lives that may have gone untouched. I believe that at least some of these families will do things and become changers of the world around them because of the loss they feel today. They will do something great to honor their fallen. They will be that person in life that will understand your loss or struggle when no one else does. They will reach lives as someones, when prior to this they were just one of many lost in the crowd.
I believe God's heart broke yesterday as the blood of innocent people were shed, but I don't doubt that he can use this to spread far and wide messages of hope, love, community, faith, family, and peace that our world would have gone without if we hadn't had to mourn a day like that.
So how can God's face be seen in times of tragedy? Maybe it can't always be seen in the immediate. At least not to the those caught in the aftermath of loss, but I bet to those that had a chance to hug and love their child, spouse, mother, father, friend, sister, or brother last night could see it. I know I could!