Picking up the pieces after tragedy pays an unwelcome visit.

I can't believe its only been 3 days since a madman took the innocence from our town. It feels like we have lived a lifetime in the last few days and our world's have changed.

First, let me start by saying many thanks to your outpouring of notes, emails and love. It is felt here in Blacksburg. I know it is powerless to hear such a major tragedy and not now how you can help, so I will give you two specific ways to help. First, is money. There are two organizations on campus that have been the backbone of some of the counseling and support provided to students and community in the last few days. While holding vigils, dinners, care packages and events are a needed thing, it comes with a financial cost too and these are not rich ministries. So I would like to ask you to consider making a financial donation to either New Life Christian Fellowship (NLCF) or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

NLCF is a church that is made up of about 95 % college students. Since students can"t give money or tithe like us working folk can, their financial resources are always being stretched to accomodate a regular attendance of 1,000 students. They have been everywhere this week and they are an amazing outreach to these students. To send a donation a check can be made out to: “NLCF” and send it to PO Box 111 Blacksburg, VA 24060 or you can follow this link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=nlcfbburg%40gmail%2ecom&item_name=New%20Life%20Christian%20Fellowship&item_number=54%2d1306658&no_shipping=2&no_note=1&tax=0¤cy_code=USD&lc=US&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF&charset=UTF%2d8 and make a credit card donation online.

For InterVarsity, they are a group that I was heavily involved in at William & Mary, came on staff and worked for at Mary Washington and now volunteer with at VA Tech. They have an amazing outreach to students include large group gatherings, small groups and special events. Their staff of 3 has been stretched to its limits this week as they have watched some of their members die in this tragedy and now have to clean up the emotional and spiritual pieces left in its wake. To give to them you can make a donation by following this link: https://my.intervarsity.org/506777a65547e901f8e10b89b1150e52/donate.php Please make sure your donation is directed to "the staff workers at Virginia Tech. "

Second, please keep praying for these students and community. The media locusts will come, feed and leave, but the pain will still linger for a very long time. Some students will not return at all this semester. The school has given the students an option to finish their students online, or take their grade as is, and I know of many students that are taking this option. The community is reeling from the violation of our town. The media has overrun or town, sometimes good, but frankly mostly bad as they have sensationalized this story to sound as if we are a bunch of angry people stomping around demanding answers. In fact it is quite the contrary. Most people have spoken of defending the university and its actions and watching the news you would think otherwise. Jeff and I have had several requests for interviews, between the two of us we have been on a New Zealand radio show, Shepherd Smith's fox news show, requests from CNN, several local stations from different parts of the country and a local morning radio station. We feel the need to share the power of the Lord in the midst of this pain and present a positive message when there is so much negative information out there.

For those of you who have followed my blog from the beginning, you may remember me describing reading the story of Jesus calming the storm right after I was diagnosed. Here is an excerpt from that post:

Jesus is in a boat with some of his disciples. They are trying to fish, he is trying to get some shut-eye. Who knows why he is sleeping, its not like he wasn't a busy guy. Maybe he had had a lot of talks that day, maybe a lot of healings, maybe he had been traveling for days, maybe he was just exhausted from dealing with all the emotional needs and wants of others (boy, haven't we all been there at some point or other) but he was snoozin'. So then all hell brakes loose. A storm (like something out of the perfect storm) hits them like a hurricane. Here's the kicker and the part that recently got to me. JESUS IS STILL ASLEEP! I read that about 2 weeks after my diagnosis and I even wrote a note next to the margin that said, "do I feel like he is still asleep in my storm?" The disciples are in a panic that they will die. (I am in a panic that I will die) and Jesus is still asleep, why???? Here's the good news...If I were asleep and the kids started into panic, but I knew before I fell asleep that this panic would be over nothing and that I was going to fix it just fine when I woke up and (most importantly) if I knew that no harm would come to them during whatever crisis they were experiencing, I might keep sleeping too. That's Jesus. He knew. He knew that the storm was not going to harm them, almost as trivial as when I know that my daughter's life is not going to end when she can't find a hair clip to match her outfit. Why didn't the disciples know? I mean come on, Jesus had healed, calmed and restored endless times for all of them to see. Why didn't I know, I mean Jesus had healed me when I thought Bethany was going to be born way too soon (despite many doctors disbelief), Jesus had calmed me when I was scared about all my boyfriend break-ups, test flunkings, or disappointing someone I cared for. Jesus had restored me when I thought I would never get married, or when someone hurt me. Why didn't I know that he was sleeping in my storm, because he knew I would not be harmed?

I thought a lot about that passage this week. I know there are many families out there feeling like Jesus is asleep in the midst of their storm. Some of you may be wondering when he going to show up to save our country from the wind and the rain, just screaming inside, "JESUS, WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED!!!", but you don't feel like he has. Well, I can tell you as one of the people rowing the boat, that if he were a useless God, he would be dead, and he isn't, he is very much alive. He is alive and ready to save us all from the death of the storm. It sure as heck, doesn't feel that way when we are tasting the salt water on our lips and trying to keep our boat upright, but he knows that he will care his children, but sometimes that is in Heaven and not here on earth. Sometimes it is in the awakening we get in our own lives when we confront such a tragedy as this. Sometimes it is in that thankfulness we have for the little moments we have with our family and friends. I loved what the mother of Mary Read said in response to hearing her daughter was killed this week. She said, "I may not understand why God took her when he did, but I am so thankful he allowed us to have her for the time we did." Jesus is weeping alongside all of us this week, and he wants so desperately to have a personal relationship with each of us in this intimate way. That is how I know he is not asleep in the midst of this storm, because he knows he will care for his children.

Please keep praying.
Go Hokies!
Kat