I'm in Florida visiting my in-laws. Its been a week of incredible weather, good food, great company. I expected, at the end of this trip, to be signing onto my newly found blog, and telling you all about the thrilling time I had down here... instead I'm captured with an entirely different moment.
I woke up on Monday morning at about 8:45, wide awake. Now most of you know me enough to know that I'm never wide awake before about 11 am, but for some reason, I was up, and wanting to check my Facebook. I almost wish I hadn't. If only I had turned over and closed my eyes, maybe this would have just turned out to be a dream. If only.... As I'm sure all of you know, as many of you are living it with me, my beloved Alma Mater, the heart of many beautiful memories, the place I would love to bring my someday children back to, has been struck with a horrid blow. During homeroom on Monday, Chardon High School came under attack by a student who had no business even being there. A student who was waiting for his bus to take him to an alternative school, who lived a hard life, came from a broken home, perhaps dealt with bullies in every aspect of his life, though perhaps not, decided that he deserved something else... So he brought a gun to this peaceful little school and killed... Three lives that hadn't even begun are now gone, hundreds of others are forever changed, and my little town will never be quite the same.
I'm sitting here, thousands of miles away from this tragedy, days after the event, with tears running down my face. The cliche of "I never thought it could happen here" couldn't be more true. Its like a terrorist in Pleasantville... this is the town where we leave keys in the car, where your door is always open, and neighbors really do come over to borrow a cup of sugar. The weekly police blotter has news feeds like "Man calls police because neighbor's sheep were loose and eating his petunias" not "student goes on deadly rampage and kills three"..... unbelievable... I want to convince myself its a lie, but CNN and Fox keeps reminding me that it is horribly and terribly true...
Amidst all of this, I have never been more homesick. I desperately love this place. I would send my children there gladly, and I pray that somehow the students, who will once again fill the halls with laughter, will be able to refind that sense of innocence and peace you should have in high school, though I fear it will not come for years yet.... I have witnessed incredibly displays of love and compassion. My coworkers, back in Missouri, have thrown their arms open to me, sharing their disbelief, my friends all over the country have been a wall of support for one another as we all wish to go home when we cannot. But more than anything my beautiful town has shown the world how wonderful it is. Prayers, love, support, these are the things that the world is witnessing. Through this horrible event, love is the primary focus. The schools in surrounding communities have banded together, wearing red, sending pictures of camaraderie and love to this town. "You are not alone in this, we will help carry you, we'll be your heartbeat if yours falters" they seem to say. One heartbeat... one of love. It is a loud battle cry from the Hilltoppers. We will not be destroyed by this. We will band together, and the Lord will use this for good to bring many to Him. Praised be His name.... The students will be able to go back into the school on Thursday to simply be there and process. On Friday classes will resume, and the first victim will be laid to rest... please join with me in praying for these children....One town, one great community, One Heartbeat....
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