Armageddon? Apocalypse? Or just a bad week...?

My faith in our world is dwindling. Lately it seems as if things just keep getting worse and worse around here, and it's truly breaking my heart. I don't know if it's this economic recession, the end of the world, or, as Alexander would put it, a "terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad" point in our lives, but something has to change. Or else I'm going to lose it.

Identities have been changed to protect the innocent:

Two friends went floating down the river in North Georgia a few weekends back. Not wanting to lose their car keys during the adventure, they hatched a plan to put the keys in a plastic bag and bury the bag. Problem solved! They'd come back from their trip a few hours later, unearth the hidden keys and get back in the car. Not exactly. When they returned to their secret burial spot, someone had dug up the keys, and all that was left was a hole in the ground. The keys were found on top of their car, and every valuable within said car had been stolen. Money, paychecks, wallets, you name it. Big deal, those things can all be replaced. Scary part of the story: someone was watching the friends discuss what to do with the keys, knew which car was theirs, watched them bury the keys and then used those keys to steal everything from the car. Can you even imagine?

A friend was walking from another friend's house to her car on a rainy night about 9pm in Buckhead. It was a residential area, and the girl felt safe. Within sight of her car, a man held a gun to her head and tried to rob her. Thankfully, she had nothing of value on her person and the guy ran off into the night. Probably a young guy just wanting a quick grab-and-go with no intention to harm, but still...a gun was involved.

A happily married couple lives in a small Southern town where "there is no crime." 2 cans of gas were stolen out of their garage. The husband was away on business and the wife was home alone. Someone broke into their home and stole gas, b/c they couldn't afford to buy their own.

A man is visiting a friend's apartment complex. While waiting in his car to be buzzed in, a robber approaches the driver's side and holds a shotgun to the man's head, stating he's going to kill him. That's right, a shotgun. He survives, but only after the robber takes everything he has in the car.

On a girl's first trip alone to Atlanta to visit family, she's held up at gun point in a parking garage in Buckhead and her purse was stolen. Again, all replaceable items, but a gun was still involved.

A new mom's wallet was stolen out of her car which was parked in her garage. The wallet was hidden in the newborn's diaper bag.

A man's brand new Garmin navigation system is stolen out of his locked car, which is parked in the driveway, 5 feet from the front door, in a gated country club in Roswell. Another man's locked car, in that same driveway, was robbed of $300 cash that same evening.

A teacher's cell phone was stolen out of her purse, which was inside her desk, by one of her students. The child was no more than 10 years old.

I know every single person in each of those stories. They're all true. They've all happened within the past year...mostly within the past few weeks. My heart breaks for each individual involved. Don't get me wrong, when I stated above that my faith in this world is dwindling, I still have faith in one thing. I know God wouldn't give us anything we all can't handle, and these are things that only make us stronger. That doesn't mean it's easy, but it is nice to have faith in something in this havoc-run world.

Am I the only one noticing these things?!