Grief Got Hijacked, Again!

By Matt Logan | January 7, 2026

Friends, let’s dive into the heartbreaking news from this morning out of Minneapolis, Minnesota—a woman was shot and killed by an ICE agent during an immigration operation in a residential neighborhood. Details are still emerging, but reports and videos indicate she was driving her vehicle (plates on the Honda Pilot she was driving are from out of state). Some reports have surfaced that she’s a paid agitator. No matter the current reports she was stopped crossways, blocking the road where ICE vehicles were operating when the shooting occurred, amid claims from DHS that she attempted to ram agents—with video suggesting that to be true, but local officials like Mayor Jacob Frey, using colorful language, are already pushing back on that narrative.

A family is left devastated, a community in shock, and the raw pain of this loss is just beginning to sink in. Videos are circulating, crowds are gathering, and before the body is even cold, the political spin has started: one side calling it an act of domestic terrorism, the other questioning the heavy-handed tactics of federal agents.

This tragedy, unfolding in real time, is already being twisted into agendas, dishonoring the life lost and the grief that should be allowed to breathe while facts are compiled during the investigation.

And that’s exactly what I want to explore today—something heavy that’s been weighing on a lot of hearts the last couple of weeks (really, years, even decades, but wow, it’s been amped up lately), with events like this morning’s shooting piling on.

We’re talking about those moments when the world feels like it’s spinning too fast, and we need to hit the pause button—not just for ourselves, but for the sake of our shared humanity.

You know, there are times when a nation, a community, or a family should just slow itself down. Take a breath. Let the dust settle. Because rushing ahead? That can turn tragedy into something twisted, something that dishonors the very souls we’re meant to honor.

The Rawness of Loss

Let me paint the picture for you. A life has been snuffed out—violently. A family is shattered, living in that fog of shock that doesn’t lift overnight, most likely never will.

People everywhere are still reeling, trying to wrap their heads around it, make sense of the senseless. They’re sitting with the grief, the questions, the what-ifs.

This isn’t over; it’s still raw, still unfolding like a wound that hasn’t even started to heal. And in those moments, that rawness? It should matter. It should command our respect, our silence, our prayers.

Welcome to the ShinyYou.us blog, where we shine a light on what really matters—truth, living with purpose, faith, and that unshakeable positivity that comes from knowing we’re all part of something bigger. I’m your host, Matt Logan, writing from the heart of it all, right here at ShinyYou.us studios.

If you’re new here, we’re all about turning pain into purpose, loss into legacy, and everyday moments into opportunities to reflect God’s love.

We’ve got devotionals, merch like our “Saved Not Soft” tees to remind you to stand firm in your faith without losing your compassion, and conversations that cut through the noise to find the truth. Let’s get real, raw, and rational.

When Politics Hijacks Grief

Instead of letting the gravity of this tragedy and others like it take hold, the political machine kicked into overdrive within minutes. Before the facts could even land, before the weight of this loss could settle on our collective shoulders, certain voices—let’s call them the propaganda pushers on both the left and right sides of the aisle—rushed in like a storm.

They framed this human tragedy through their lens of politics, not the lens of right and wrong or law and lawlessness, but twisting a heart-wrenching ordeal into a tool, a narrative, something “useful” for their agenda. And that choice? It screams volumes about priorities. It tells you what mattered most to them: not the person, not the pain, not the truth. But the power play. Now, I know what you’re thinking—Matt, why bring politics into this? Well, because it’s already there, and ignoring it won’t make it go away.

But here’s my plea: Don’t feed the beast. They crave reaction. They’re banking on someone—anyone with a differing view—to fire back with something sharp, something heated. Then boom—they stage the outrage, claim the moral high ground, and the cycle spins on. It’s a trap as old as time, straight out of the playbook of division. And it only works if we don’t abandon our better instincts, the ones God planted in us for times just like this. Do not give them that satisfaction. Hold the line with grace. Look, we don’t have the full story yet on this morning’s shooting—a few details, maybe we’ll never have the full details, not in a way that makes sense. We know it ended in violence that never should have happened. That alone should scream for restraint—for all of us to pump the brakes, bow our heads, and lift up prayers instead of opinions. But grief got hijacked. Death became material for memes, talking points. That’s not just sad; it’s a symptom of a deeper cultural rot.

Getting Personal: My Story of Grief and Purpose

Let me get personal for a minute, because that’s what we do here on the blog. You know my story—September 4, 2012, the day my world shattered with the loss of my daughter. That pain? It could’ve broken me, turned me bitter, made me lash out at the world. But with family support and faith as my anchor, it birthed something else: my SHINY blueprint. A mission to spread positivity, to remind folks that being saved doesn’t mean being soft. We stand firm in truth, but we lead with love. Grief isn’t a weapon; it’s a teacher. It taught me that rushing to judgment, politicizing pain—that’s not healing; that’s hiding from the hard work of humanity. In the Bible, Ecclesiastes 12:7 tells us the spirit returns to God who gave it. If He knew us before birth, our spirits knew Him too.

That connection? It’s bigger than politics, bigger than any one life or loss.

So why do we let the machinery of division use us?

Why do we allow grief to become a political tool? Think about it this way: In a world of echo chambers, as I’ve posted often, “Spark Conversations, Not Confrontation.” Stay true to the truth. Don’t let hostility dim your light. That’s the panache we bring here at ShinyYou.us—bold, unapologetic faith mixed with real-talk compassion. We’re not here to soft-pedal truth, but we’re not here to weaponize it either. What Do We Do Now? So, what do we do? We pray for the family. We cry, we pause, we think, we seek wisdom. We resist the trap of reaction. We choose decency over division. And if you’re feeling that pull to say something sharp? Pause. Ask yourself: Does this build up or tear down? Does this reflect the God who knew me before birth, or the noise of the world?

This is still unfolding, friends. Don’t let yourself be used. Instead, shine. Head over to shinyyou.us and check out a devotional—they’re all about wielding your SHINY wisely, not being deceived by the chaos. And if this post hit home, drop a comment below, share it with someone who needs it. Let’s build a community where human decency reigns, where moral restraint isn’t weakness but wisdom.

Until next time, keep shining bright. This is Matt Logan, signing off. Stay SHINY! God bless.