DISJOINTED THOUGHTS IN DISJOINTED TIMES . . .

So many of the photographs I've seen of the VA Tech shooting coverage includes pictures of people praying. In groups standing at makeshift shrines; with heads bowed to their knees in chapel prayer services; at the convocation ceremony; clutching each others' hands. I trust that God hears every word spoken to Him; He can't but help hear the things His children say to Him. I also trust that He speaks back, with wisdom and in His time. I hope and pray that some of those who are talking to Him know Him and are able to fully receive His comfort and strength in these days. I also hope and pray that those who don't know Him but are talking to Him anyway -- because they just don't know who else to turn to, and something inside them says "God will listen if you talk to Him" -- will come to know Him. America may be a secular nation, but still, when we are pushed to the wall, we come together in prayer, believers and non-believers alike. There is a reason for this. Even in times like this -- maybe especially at times like this? -- let God be lifted high and glorified, and let His power and grace flow down on all of us, to restore us.

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The postman who delivers to the family of the shooter said it best: "No parent deserves this." That's so true. I confess, there have been times that I've wished really bad things to happen to people I detest, folks who really hurt me or angered me. But there are things at which even my over-active imagination draws the line. Nobody deserves to be shot up, killed, maimed, executed, traumatized like the victims of the shooting. Neither does anybody deserve to suffer that which the shooter's family must also be enduring now. The news states that the police have taken them away from their home in the suburbs. I assume this is for their own protection? Lord knows, there are enough other imbalanced and ill people out there who would consider it no small thing to harass, torment, exact revenge. But where would they go? Where would they possibly go, where they will not only have to carry the weight of the loss of a son in the prime of his youth, but also the stabbing knowledge that he was the one who caused the loss of so many others?

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What is it about the "loner" tag? I knew lots of loners in my various school environments. I went through a loner phase. I think I'm going through a loner phase now, for crying out loud! Is that all it takes? I have so many questions like this. Is it really rare for students to write macabre and disturbing things in their creative writing assignments? Was this guy, and others like him, a weirdo and a freak before, or did he just turn into one in hindsight? I have no deep understanding of the psychological nitty-gritty, and the things that educators must contend with and balance on a daily basis. But if it's not okay to be a creatively writing loner ... then what do we do with all of them out there who might not turn into a mass murderer, and just need some nurturing and understanding and friendship, just like everybody else?