7/20/2012
I'm sure you've heard already.
How could you not have? It's on the news. It's on the radio. It's on your facebook. It's all anyone can talk about.
12 people died today.
When I say that, I feel almost ridiculous. People die all the time. People are murdered more often than we'd like to admit.
But these 12 people... These 12 people are different.
Let me tell you why.
These 12 people... They are your parents. And your best friends. And your children.
And it could have been you.
Imagine with me for a second.
Imagine standing in line for 5 hours waiting for the most anticipated movie of the year. Imagine laughing with your friends and getting custom t shirts made. Imagine the movie marathons and the popcorn and the staying up late... Imagine being excited. Imagine being happy.
And then imagine that suddenly being taken away from you.
Imagine turning to laugh with your friend about the weird couple next to you, and then the next moment watching your friend's life be ripped away from her.
Imagine telling your son to get his feet off the seat in front of him, and then the next moment screaming for his life to come back.
Imagine being embarrassed to be at movie with your mom, and then the next moment wish you could be with her again anywhere.
Imagine thinking about how much sleep you'll be able to get before work the next morning and then hearing a gun shot and wondering if it's coming in your direction.
These 12 people are different because it's us.
I had someone ask me today why I care now and why about them?
He spouted off some statistics about the war and how many people, roughly, died yesterday at war.
And he asked why I cared about these 12 people but didn't care about the 140 that died yesterday at war.
It made me wonder. Why? Why suddenly do we care? Like I said, people die all the time.
Why these 12 people?
It's because this is home.
It's because this is where we are supposed to be safe and suddenly we aren't anymore.
I support and care for and pray for all of the people in the war. And when they die, it's sad. But when it's close to home like this... It shakes your world.
Soldiers sign up knowing there is a risk. These 12 people didn't buy their movie tickets knowing there was a risk.
And these 12 people could have been anyone.
Suddenly we realize that this could be it.
For the first time in my life, I had to face the reality that even though I walked in to that movie with 3 friends, if that had been our theater, I might have walked out with only 2.
And it could happen anywhere. At anytime.
Life is so fleeting. But we don't realize it until something like this happens. Not really.
We don't realize that when you say goodbye to your parents as they are walking out the door for their date night, that could be the last thing you ever say to them.
We don't realize that when you're walking around campus with your friend, that could be the last time you ever walk with them.
We don't realize that this could happen anywhere. At any time.
But I think we're starting to.
I woke up this morning so angry. I got on facebook to post a status about how I was so mad to be awake.
But then as I scrolled through my news feed, I realized how lucky I was to be awake. How blessed I am. Because 12 people didn't wake up today after going to the same movie I went to.
It was far away from my home. But it could have been anywhere. It could have been my theater.
It could have been yours.
As I think about today, I pray for the victims. For the people still in critical condition. For their families and their friends. And I pray for you.
I pray that you realize how blessed you are to be breathing.
How lucky you are to have life.
I pray that now... This changes you.
I hope we don't forget it in a few days and then act like it never happened.
This changes everything.
This changes what you say to people. This changes how you treat the people you love. This changes what you spend your time on. This changes your life.
It's devastating.
But let it change you. Let it make you better. Let it make you see how beautiful your life is.
Because it is.
You were blessed enough to wake up this morning.
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