Thursday Thirteen: Virginia Tech

I pray . . .

for the families of the people killed at Virginia Tech. Their hearts must be aching with terrible grief.

for the survivors of the attack. I pray that they will be healed, physically and spiritually.

that they won’t go through the rest of their lives traumatized.

for the administration, faculty, and staff of Virginia Tech as they make decisions about the school’s future.

that they will not blame themselves for the young man’s actions. It’s easy to make judgments based on hindsight.

that students will have the courage and determination to start back to classes on Monday and to finish these last few weeks of the semester.

for the shooter’s parents, that people won’t try to harm them. They must be suffering terribly. I can’t begin to imagine how it would be to learn that my child had done such a thing.

for all the rest of us, that we may comfort those we can see are hurting, and that we will truly and deeply care about other people.

that we will have compassion and reach out when we see someone who seems completely isolated like the shooter was for several years.

that we can understand that maybe nothing anybody could have done would have helped him—or maybe it would have.

that we might learn to open ourselves to God’s loving call rather than closing up within ourselves.

that we may learn to love God and other people. That we might give love freely, without too much concern about whether we get it back in suitable amounts.

and that many other people will join me in these concerns.

Thursday Thirteen: Virginia Tech

http://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2007/04/thursday-thirteen-virginia-tech.html