A Tragedy

We had a tragedy on my street yesterday. A 22 year old college student decided that the ultimate escape was the only option. At 5 am he took a handgun and took his own life. I didn’t know him. I didn’t know his family. I knew of him. There are no words to say to a family in that situation. There is nothing that can be done to make things better. I know that almost everyone has thought about doing away with themselves at least once. Most people get through it or simply never act on it. It’s a tragedy when it actually happens.

Life is too precious, too fragile, and too special to waste on pain and too short to shorten even further. It’s always when someone thinks that things can’t get any worse when they seem to attempt suicide. But, ending a life only makes it worse – so it CAN get worse. It’s much worse for those left behind. And no – they don’t get over it. It stays with them. Things CAN, however, get better – never perfect; but, better.

Without sounding overly simplistic, God can help. But, it’s not a magic wand – wave it and things are all OK now . . . . No, it still requires work. But with God in a life, there is purpose and with purpose there is direction and with direction, there is something to do other than focus on the complexities that sometimes overtake us. I don’t have answers but at least there’s something to do to try.

Peace.

Been Gone Too Long

Well, the hectic holidays are finally gone. Now I just need to finish putting away the tree . . . .

There’s really nothing profound that slips into my mind today. In fact, my mind is rather numb. So, let’s see what might be noteworthy.

This past weekend I attended another class for Congregational Studies at Eden Seminary, sponsored by the St. Louis Episcopal Diocese. The program topic was about effective meetings and was very beneficial. There was good information about behavioral issues and planning issues. The type of information could be applied to any type of meeting.

This weekend is the Senior Swim Meet for my daughter at KU. It’s the last home meet for the team. The next meet is away – and then come the Big 12 Championships. So, its going to be a bitter-sweet day.

Oh, I never finished with blogging our trip to Germany. So, to help remember, here's a picture of Hans at the Hofbrau Haus in Munich. Prost!