Ache of Sorrow

So, it happened in a small mountain town in Virginia instead of in New York City on TV. It happened to college students and professors instead of average office workers and plane passengers going about their business. It happened because of one troubled young man with a gun, instead of an organized plot by a terrorist group.

And yet, the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech has troubled my heart even more than that horrific Tuesday morning in September in 2001. I think it's because I went to school in a small mountain town in Virginia. I was an RA. I was an English major. My greatest friends were at college. Outside my family, my professors were my first mentors.

And even now, I work with college students at church. One of my closest friends teaches at a university. And every time the news shows the pictures of those who were killed, I see those kids, that friend. It could've been any one of them. My heart aches, with sadness, and with thankfulness that mine were not involved.

And compared to the parents who sent their kids to school, only to have them never come home; compared to the classmates and roommates and friends of those lost; compared to all of those waiting for those smiling faces to return---my ache is so incredibly minor.

As we all grieve, I pray that we hold our loved ones closer, and keep those most affected in most fervent prayer. And to all the college students out there who feel a little unsteady since Monday--hang on to God. He'll uphold you. And to those at Virginia Tech--may you know God's peace and the comfort of His love.