I haven't been able to move far from the TV these past two days, ever since I first heard the news of the horrific shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday morning. Times like these fascinate me, but depress me even more. In this age of nearly instant information most of the time, the VT students were vulnerable in spite of it. I am sickened for each and all of those killed, horrified and saddened for their families.
Turns out one of the professors in the English department was a dear friend of the English teacher at our school. She called him this morning and heard his story. He was in his office when the shootings started and got an email informing him and other professors that there was a "gunman on the loose." He was instructed to stay inside and away from the windows. He did, however look out of his window occasionally. While he did not lose anyone close to him (as far as he knew this morning), his wife (also a professor in the English department) did. One of her favorite students, someone her husband described as "the one she probably looked forward to seeing in class the most," was shot and killed.
I keep thinking about what I would do if this happened at our school. I keep thinking about losing so many students at one time. I keep thinking about the surprise and shock of it all. And yet there had to be signs. This couldn't have been a surprise to those who knew the shooter. I find myself going through my mind at what I know about the kids and the people I work with. And my mind just reels...and I find no good answers. That young man...what anger...what hurt. We do not know the depth of it, nor will we ever I suspect.
What I do know, above all else, though, is that I'm grateful for the privilege of working at a Christian school where we start each day, each class with prayer. We put our lives and those of our families in God's hands each morning. That's the most and the best we can do...
I haven't been able to move far from the TV these past two days, ever since I first heard the news of the horrific shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday morning. Times like these fascinate me, but depress me even more. In this age of nearly instant information most of the time, the VT students were vulnerable in spite of it. I am sickened for each and all of those killed, horrified and saddened for their families.
Turns out one of the professors in the English department was a dear friend of the English teacher at our school. She called him this morning and heard his story. He was in his office when the shootings started and got an email informing him and other professors that there was a "gunman on the loose." He was instructed to stay inside and away from the windows. He did, however look out of his window occasionally. While he did not lose anyone close to him (as far as he knew this morning), his wife (also a professor in the English department) did. One of her favorite students, someone her husband described as "the one she probably looked forward to seeing in class the most," was shot and killed.
I keep thinking about what I would do if this happened at our school. I keep thinking about losing so many students at one time. I keep thinking about the surprise and shock of it all. And yet there had to be signs. This couldn't have been a surprise to those who knew the shooter. I find myself going through my mind at what I know about the kids and the people I work with. And my mind just reels...and I find no good answers. That young man...what anger...what hurt. We do not know the depth of it, nor will we ever I suspect.
What I do know, above all else, though, is that I'm grateful for the privilege of working at a Christian school where we start each day, each class with prayer. We put our lives and those of our families in God's hands each morning. That's the most and the best we can do...
2 comments:
Yes...so true. We have to stay in God's hand. These tragic events are a somber reminder to polish up disaster plans. I've had individuals from churches and schools contact me seeking advice for dealing with potential crises.
This has been a very sad situation. A local couple (Washington state) lost their granddaughter in the shootings yesterday. They are in such shock, just like the rest of the nation. As a parent of a son away at college, I do worry about the random 'crazy' student out there who might do fellow classmates harm. This has left our nation with a great sense of sadness.
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