NeVer ForgeT: A Memorial

Five years ago today, I remember sitting tensely in my sophomore English class staring at the television screen as we exchanged Shakespearean drama for news footage from Virginia Tech's campus. Three of our friends attended Virginia Tech, the location of the mass shooting that had taken place only minutes before. They had marched proudly across the stage of our tiny Christian school wearing cap and gown eleven months earlier, and were about to finish their first year in Hokieville. We had heard from two of them, but Rachael was still missing. In all the chaos and confusion, however, it was understandable that no one had heard from her. Phone lines were overloaded, and people were running everywhere. And the buzz screamed "The engineering building! He shot people in the engineering building!" Rachael had no reason to be in the engineering building. She must be fine.

All day and night came without any word. But the next morning, when our phone rang at six forty five, I knew the news before I heard it. Rachael was gone, a victim of violence and tragedy. She had no siblings, leaving her parents childless. The girl who had encouraged me, laughed with me, and taught me how to properly set a volleyball never made it past her first year of college. She had such a bright future, with talents and drive to make a significant difference in the world. As I collapsed onto my bed and sobbed into my pillow, I wondered why. Why Rachael?

Today, five years later, I ask a different question. Why anyone? Why did any of those 33 people have to die? Why did Rachael's classmate at our high school struggle through a Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis her senior year? Why did cancer defeat our English teacher, the same wonderful woman who watched that footage and wept with us on April 16, 2007, only a few years later? Today, I recognize something that I did not know at age fifteen. Today, I understand that Satan will stop at nothing to try to curb the work of God's saints. Disease, tragedy, and disaster delight him. Playing with chaos is one of his favorite games. No one is too good for Satan to mess with, not even you. Not even me. But I also know that my Savior is sovereign. He holds the world in his hands, and creation trembles in his presence. I know that He gives us an endless supply of peace, comfort, and strength at the very moments that Satan tries to strip them away.

I noticed that I have not heard anyone mention Virginia Tech today. No one has talked about the five year anniversary of the event that should have never happened. My mission is to remind you of what took place at in Blacksburg, VA on April 16, 2007. Whether my remarks leave you simply reflective or totally teary-eyed,  I want to extend Rachael's impact to as many souls as possible. Because Rachael did make a difference, not only in her life but in her death. Without her death, fewer people would think about God today. Fewer people would pray today. Fewer people would make important decisions to live well today. And fewer people would know God today. Can we at least praise Him for that?