Yesterday a man walked into a solar plant office building and shot 6 people before turning his semi-automatic hand gun on himself. Three are dead (including the shooter) and 4 are injured. The motive was a domestic dispute and the man went after his girlfriend and her friends/coworkers.
This incident happened a stone's throw from my kids' preschool. Thankfully they were at home yesterday and were not impacted by the tragedy. The school deserves kudos for the quick and efficient way they locked down and secured the school and got the kids out as quickly as possible. My husband was out of town yesterday and his absence combined with the incident really got me thinking. What would I have done if one or more of my kids had been affected or injured? Who could I have called? And on the other note (being that I teach at a university where crazy stuff happens more often than I would like) what if something like that happened here?
Although we love where we live, we definitely experience those moments of stress that comes from not having a great support system. Mostly it occurs when a child is sick or a car is in the shop. But it also occurs when we would love to share our joy. For my husband and I, it was very lonely after the birth of our first son when we were so excited and proud of our sweet baby boy and had few to share him with until my family arrived a few days later.
When tragedies happen, and I think that could have been me or my family, my thoughts go to the relationships I have with people: my husband, my kids, family, and friends. In the end it will probably be those relationships that we think of right before Jesus calls us home.
So glad you are all safe and sound. Thanks so much for my card. I really appreciate it. Please tell Matt and Carly Ann that I loved their signatures!
ReplyDeleteThis is where church family comes in. I have never had family close by here in New Mexico. Not blood family anyway. I am so very thankful for my close relationships within my church family that have gotten us through many times. Good and bad. They don't completely replace my kin, but they have made the distance easier. In Heaven, I truly believe that my lifelong friends, church family thru the years, and my kin will be equally united with me as "family" from our earthly experience. I feel a little silly saying that though because who knows WHAT we'll care about in Heaven. HA! I love you Rucha and I love your family too. I know it is hard to be away from your parents and siblings, but I hope that you have developed deep relationships here and feel that you can count on them in good times and tough times both!
ReplyDelete