VA TECH TRAGEDY
April 19th 2007 13:19
This is a copy of a posting I made at momprays.com. I'm posting it here as well as on myspace.com because I hope to offer encouragement and/or comfort to anyone who is hurting as a result of the tragedy at VA Tech this week.
Good Courage
Jeremiah 29:11-13 KJV
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Psalm 27:13,14 KJV
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
I am not qualified to issue any kind of advice about trusting in God and his divine wisdom in the midst of tragedy. I only know that when confronted by great evil, great good breaks through and thrives. As I watched the coverage of the murders at VA Tech this past week, I pictured in my mind the dorm where I had lived, the location of the first two murders. I remember feeling so liberated and relishing my first taste of real freedom as a freshman student. I didn’t do a very good job at maneuvering in that role, but the love for that school, the students and the town remains some thirty years later.
I know I wanted my daughter, in college in northern Virginia, with my here in Richmond when I first heard the news. It was a similar response to the one I had on 9/11, desperately wanting my husband and children in my house, in my physical presence—with me. My heart breaks as a parent. I cannot begin to fathom the agonizing grief of losing a child. I shake my head, unable to grasp the magnitude of the loss to this world of so many good, bright, outstanding human beings. The future was forever changed in two short hours.
I can speak volumes on my thoughts and emotions as a parent, as a former student, as a Hokie football fan, as a human being. As a Christian, I don’t feel qualified. I can relate what the Bible says about forgiveness, hope, grieving, the future. I cannot make sense out of the murders and subsequent suicide, though. I found myself marveling at the grace and dignity with which the families of the dead students conducted themselves, and at how well-spoken and thoughtful the students have been as they not only process the entire event for themselves, but serve as the face and the heart and the soul of Virginia Tech.
More than that, I cannot do. I cannot explain or begin to understand how all this fits into God’s divine plan. I can only trust that it does – that it will. I don’t believe He wanted this to happen! I do believe He began working in the hearts and minds of thousands of people all over the world, the moment the news of the shooting rampage at VA Tech hit the airways. I have already seen communities and states and nations come together to honor those lost. Beyond that, I have seen how God is using tragedy and agony and loss to spark something that may never have been ignited otherwise.
Those truths don’t make it any less painful or difficult to endure. They are, rather all we have to hang on to in the midst of the struggles in our lives—both large and small. To a person, everyone I’ve seen and heard—families, students, faculty—have had “good courage” and give me hope for the future—which God does hold in the palm of his hand.
My prayer today is that you take special note of the way God is working in your heart and in your mind. And that you do everything you can to make this world a better place.
Mary
Good Courage
Jeremiah 29:11-13 KJV
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
I am not qualified to issue any kind of advice about trusting in God and his divine wisdom in the midst of tragedy. I only know that when confronted by great evil, great good breaks through and thrives. As I watched the coverage of the murders at VA Tech this past week, I pictured in my mind the dorm where I had lived, the location of the first two murders. I remember feeling so liberated and relishing my first taste of real freedom as a freshman student. I didn’t do a very good job at maneuvering in that role, but the love for that school, the students and the town remains some thirty years later.
I know I wanted my daughter, in college in northern Virginia, with my here in Richmond when I first heard the news. It was a similar response to the one I had on 9/11, desperately wanting my husband and children in my house, in my physical presence—with me. My heart breaks as a parent. I cannot begin to fathom the agonizing grief of losing a child. I shake my head, unable to grasp the magnitude of the loss to this world of so many good, bright, outstanding human beings. The future was forever changed in two short hours.
I can speak volumes on my thoughts and emotions as a parent, as a former student, as a Hokie football fan, as a human being. As a Christian, I don’t feel qualified. I can relate what the Bible says about forgiveness, hope, grieving, the future. I cannot make sense out of the murders and subsequent suicide, though. I found myself marveling at the grace and dignity with which the families of the dead students conducted themselves, and at how well-spoken and thoughtful the students have been as they not only process the entire event for themselves, but serve as the face and the heart and the soul of Virginia Tech.
More than that, I cannot do. I cannot explain or begin to understand how all this fits into God’s divine plan. I can only trust that it does – that it will. I don’t believe He wanted this to happen! I do believe He began working in the hearts and minds of thousands of people all over the world, the moment the news of the shooting rampage at VA Tech hit the airways. I have already seen communities and states and nations come together to honor those lost. Beyond that, I have seen how God is using tragedy and agony and loss to spark something that may never have been ignited otherwise.
Those truths don’t make it any less painful or difficult to endure. They are, rather all we have to hang on to in the midst of the struggles in our lives—both large and small. To a person, everyone I’ve seen and heard—families, students, faculty—have had “good courage” and give me hope for the future—which God does hold in the palm of his hand.
My prayer today is that you take special note of the way God is working in your heart and in your mind. And that you do everything you can to make this world a better place.
Mary
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