Shared grief with Virginia Tech

As a pastor, a phrase I'm well used to hearing at funerals is that "life is fragile". The sad, brittle truth is that we live in a violent world where we are constantly at war with the death and hatred around us. There is indeed a lot of good in this world, but we've all seen how easy it is to do bad in contrast to the daily effort it takes to take us away from the line of anarchy and annihilation.

This morning, a man whom I'm sure we'll hear a lot about in the days to come decided to end his days on this planet by unleashing anger and violence toward students whose own last days were probably started with mundane, routine activities. By this afternoon, families were ripped apart, friendships dissolved, and fear injected into the hearts of all around the nation.

It's not as if this is even a special exception of violence, of course. Daily, we have worldwide atrocities, many of which never see the front page of any newspaper — but that doesn't make the pain, grief or loss behind those events any less for those going through them. Yet some events will strike us as "closer to home" more naturally, and I can only remember my own college days, when I first saw the newspaper headline about Columbine.

My first response is to fall on my knees and pray. Pray for the families right now that will be receiving the horrible news. For the community of Virginia Tech, as they've seen that both life and security is so fragile as to be gone within the space of a morning. For the law enforcement officials and the doctors and the counselors.

And as with any tragic story, the real news of small acts of heroism — the miraculous surgery in the operating room, the person who counsels a depressed friend from committing suicide, the everyday leaders who will step up and do what they can to provide assistance and support — will go overlooked for the brutal, gory details.

Life is fragile, my friends. Don't just live every day to its fullest, but live every day to its best.