All I can see is the images of the explosions and the terror on people's faces as they witnessed and experienced carnage. The streets of Boston became a war zone as the rest of the nation watched in horror. My mouth was slack as I kept returning to the big screen TVs at work. What started at 30 injured quickly jumped to 78....then 96....then it continued to climb. Stories of limbs being blown off and belts being used as life-saving tourniquets were coming across the airwaves.
And then I saw the news report that one of the three confirmed dead was an 8 year old boy.
And I was just done. Undone. Ripped apart. Angry. Heartbroken.
Friends, I just couldn't go to bed tonight without at least trying to write about what happened at the Boston Marathon today. Although I know I will likely never be at the level to run 26.2 miles, I am a runner. But more than that, I am a mother. I am a wife. I am a daughter. I am just sick to think of how many people lost so much today. It makes my insides clench as I consider how someone somewhere right now is relishing in a job well done, delighting that their meticulous planning paid off in a surprise attack that resulted in unspeakable horror for so many innocents.
What can we even say?
How do we even think about such things?
Thankfully, Lisa-Jo was able to write about today's tragedy much better than I ever could. Where I have felt paralyzed, she has been able to write about Boston with such love and fondness. For me, the words just won't come.
I'm going to try to get some sleep now, but I truly wish my love was here to hold me tight and whisper the strong words he always seems to have stored in his pocket. In the days that follow, we will find out more about the who, the why, the how, and the how bad. I'm going to hug my kids so tight tomorrow, they're going to think I've gone crazy.
Heavenly Father, when things like this happen our only hope is to look to you in the face of such horrible wickedness. May your Holy Spirit rush into Boston now, penetrating the hearts of everyone affected. Help us to process this, to support and love on one another through this. Give your strength to the ones whose lives have been forever changed, whether through terrible injury, loss of life of a loved one, or loss of innocence. Help us, Father. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
