I *was* going to post on this thought that I had while watching one of the 100s of shows last night about Don Imus – about perhaps the outrage is so great because society, or at least a larger part of it, is becoming more civilized, more spiritual, more socially conscious. Maybe we’re improving.
And then today happened.
It was a day of bad news. First, about a dear friend and her brand new baby. Then about a new, kind acquaintance with a tragic situation. And then of course the massacre of Virginia Tech.
I got on this “need to know” mission this afternoon, following the news stories for a little while, because this incident hurt me badly. Charles Gibson did a mini-piece about how universities are our sanctuaries, and I realized that was part of it.
College for me – a woman who’s never finished her undergrad degree and dreams of having a master’s – has always been a kind of haven. It was the first place I was popular in my youth. It was fun, it was intellectual, it was the first place I learned the independence and freedom I craved since I was a small child.
It was like a really great church sanctuary. I attended, in my college on-again-off-again career, 5 different colleges, each of them I loved for a different reason. Classrooms were ok, but libraries and professor’s offices were heaven. Even the caf, with its smell of nasty over-cooked processed meats, was comforting. I loved to stroll my different campuses, try to find the pools and think about learning to swim, walking the paths, finding accessible rooftops.
And now that’s gone.
But now, when I consider the insecurity and danger in this world around us, where we least expected, when I think about my friend, those traumatized parents of the deceased students, the trials of my new acquaintance, when I add in terrorists and pandemics and poverty and on and on, my spine is straight, my heart touched but in place, and my peace still whole. I am thankful I was not affected, but I am more thankful that I have a good sturdy God standing behind me. And where once I would have needed to fall backwards, repeatedly, into His Arms on a day like this, today I can turn to Him and smile that He’s got my back.
And I know that’s true even on those days when the terrible things happen to me.
May you be safe, dear reader, and remember to pray for all those parents who lost their promising, beautiful, bright young children, because their hearts will never be the same again.
peace.