Monday, April 20, 2009

Remembering


Do you remember what you were doing 10 years ago on April 20th? Probably not. It was a relatively insignificant day. It was a Tuesday, and I was a sophomore in college. My sister was a senior in high school. My parents were both at work.

On this day, I chose to eat in our college's cafe, as opposed to the cafeteria. The cafe began as a bowling alley and was remodeled as a coffee shop/cafe. The tables and counters were all made from the bowling lanes. There were pool tables, game tables, and suspended televisions.

As I munched on my sandwich, I happened to look up at one of the TVs. I noticed something familiar, but couldn't place it.

And then it hit me. I was watching coverage of something from my hometown's local NBC station. I became intrigued. What was going on at home?

So I watched. In disbelief.

Columbine High School was under attack.

Chaos was everywhere.

I left immediately and ran to my dorm room. I turned on the TV and cried. I called my mom and my sister and my dad. All of the area high schools were under lockdown as school officials had no idea the scope of the attacks.

My family was safe, but my community was suffering.

It was awful. I didn't leave my room for the remainder of the day. I called friends who were still at home to find out anything I could. For the next few days I was glued to the news anytime I was in my room.

What a tragedy. There were so many questions. Who would do this and why? How could this happen in such a safe neighborhood? Where was God?

And there He was. Wednesday morning the residents of Denver woke up to a fresh, white blanket of snow. Purity and innocence had covered the school and the community. The blood stains were cleansed and washed away.

And then the stories emerged. Many of the 13 victims were shot at random, but some were targeted.

"Do you believe in God?"

What would you say with a gun in your face? How would you respond? These students stood up for their God and did not deny Him.

And 10 years later, we remember their sacrifice.

3 comments:

Sarah Mae said...

Powerful. I have chills - you wrote that beautifully. Remembering...

momof3girls said...

than you for sharing your story - How blessed we are to have the opportunity to stand for Christ each day without a gun in our face

MamaHen Em said...

I don't think it is possible to forget. K was living here then and called me in tears to tell me to turn on the news.

Still today my heart breaks for all those losses. Beautiful tribute. . .