Praying

The story line goes that our grandparents remember exactly where they were when they heard that Pearl Harbor was bombed.

Our parents remember the moment they heard that JFK had been assassinated. 

Thankfully they also remember the amazement of watching Neil Armstrong bounce on the moon. 

I pray for our children because they've had too many horrific events in their short history to comprehend. I'm 30 and I remember watching the events of Columbine unfold with my friends. We had a scheduled half-day of school and thankfully we were able to huddle together when the world didn't make sense anymore. 

I was in grad school, studying in the library, when Virginia Tech happened. Complete strangers came together and offered a shoulder to cry on, yet everyone was looking around imagining, "could this happen here?"

9/11, Oklahoma City, Newton, and far too many other events have happened that each pulls at the string of your heart in a different way. It's impossible to think of one and not immediately think of another. Those shocking images are forever seared into our brains.

And now Boston is added to that list. 

The world doesn't seem to make sense anymore.  I'm thankful in the midst of this chaos that there are people in the world who run towards the smoke, towards the gunfire, and towards the destruction to help and save others.  That's what I'm going to hold onto. 

I urge you to hold onto your loved ones and never forget to tell them you love them. 

Today is my brother's birthday. He turned 21 on April 16, 2007.  Like so many college students that should have been an amazing day for him.  It's a date he'll never be able to forget and neither will no one else.

Never forget. Never forget Newton. Never forget Boston. Never forget Columbine. Never forget Virginia Tech.