Quite a few dark events have transpired lately, not just here in the US, but around the globe. Behind the scenes I had been feeling it, like an oppressive weight hanging over me. I’d shove it aside and go through my day ignoring it as much as I could. Then the last few days happened, and I could no longer ignore it.

While I tried to process it all, I kept from posting on social media and instead spent the time in prayer and reflection. It’s not that I don’t have opinions or that I don’t feel strongly about matters. It was that each event brought up PTSD from trauma I experienced long ago, which means it takes me longer than most to process events like those that have happened.

When I was little, my mother and I were in a situation where someone tried to kill her, and despite my young age, I threw myself at the person in an attempt to save her. In that moment, I knew we both could die at the hands of someone very evil. By the skin of our teeth, we managed to escape, but that moment forever changed me.

What does that have to do with current events? Not everyone can say they’ve looked death in the face. Those that can and have survived are never the same. We have seen what evil is to a degree that goes beyond watching a horrendous act replay again and again on a screen. It takes us right back to the moment, or moments, when we faced it ourselves. We know, without a doubt, evil is very much a real thing.

You can dress it up and change its name, but at its core, it is what it is. And if you do not guard your heart, it can overtake you, no matter what side of isle you stand. Give in to it, and you’ll begin to see every disagreement or opposing position as a threat until you’ve dehumanized others to the point of excusing unthinkable acts.

The hard truth is, no world exists where someone won’t end up disagreeing with you or hold completely different views than your own. If there was, it would be called science fiction, and we’d all be robot clones. How boring. Living in an imperfect world, though, means being offended or hurt by someone is inevitable. It will happen. What is important is how you respond, not just for the benefit of whoever has offended you, but for the good of your own soul.

During my reflection of events and watching how they affected so many, I was reminded that, despite the existence of evil in this world, good does prevail. A favorite Lord of the Rings quote of mine is, “Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.” The outpouring of love and hope after dark events always outweighs the damage evil has done. We may not be able to thwart every arrow evil sends our way, but we can choose to rise above it and become stronger.

How that plays out will be different for everyone. For me, I was suddenly overtaken with a passion to create. I threw myself into sketching art, redesigning my website, and even creating my first ever promo video. Evil cannot create, you see, it can only destroy.

To overcome it, simply do what evil can’t.

Plant gardens, create art, laugh more, bake pies, be charitable, enjoy time with friends and family, and defend those you love with honor. As the latest events prove, we don’t know how long we have on this earth. Use what time you do have wisely. Each time you make a special effort to cherish precious moments and celebrate life, you prove evil cannot win.

Do you remember that moment in The Return of the King where, at a very dark point in the story, Sam notices the crown of flowers on the fallen head of a defamed statue suddenly light up by a single ray of sun breaking through the clouds? “Mr. Frodo, look!” He says. “The King has got a crown again.”

Choose to be a ray of hope strong enough to pierce the darkness.