Thankful Thursday ♥

Today is a sad day for me and some of my friends...there was a shooting at the campus of Virginia Tech which sent echoes of the April 16, 2007 through the airwaves, stinging the not-yet-healed wounds that were left from that rampage. It also brings back memories of what happened in my own town on March 23, 2011. Today, an officer was killed doing his/her (not yet released) job protecting the students and citizens of Virginia Tech and Blacksburg, VA. Please take a moment to remember them in your thoughts and prayers.

Today, I am thankful that, while there is great evil in our world, there is also great love, kindness, respect, and encouragement. I'm thankful for the men and women, whose names we never hear, doing jobs that require them to rush in when everyone else is rushing out. I'm thankful for a God who promises never to leave us, especially in times of sadness, and who gives us strength when we're ready to give up. I'm thankful that, while their own hearts break, there are officers from multiple agencies scouring areas where they know danger lurks at any second, because that's what they're paid to do.

I remember and still see the way Athens banded together when our community was shattered by a similar situation and it encourages me to know that out of something so bad, so many lives were also changed for the better. So much good came from a combined love for one family. I hope the Hokie nation and their loved ones can find that same kind of peace.

Today...and every day...we have so much to be thankful for.