Dan Londeree

Yesterday at 2:57 p.m. I received an automated phone call from Cabell County Schools. I listened in disbelief as the recorded message shared that a student from Cabell Midland High School – OUR high school – had been killed on the interstate. I immediately called my daughter, who is a junior there, and made sure she was ok and told her about the message I had received. Like me, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She said some information had already begun to circulate among the students but she hadn’t heard anything that could be confirmed. As we talked, the background noise of students talking and laughing as they finished their school day ceased. Word had started to spread. Tragedy had entered into our lives and everyone was processing what they were hearing.

Later, I had conversations with my wife and my oldest daughter, who graduated from Midland last year. By that time we had learned more details about what had taken place. The student was a senior who played football, and the events surrounding his death were heartbreaking. (I don’t believe it is my place to recount what I’ve read, but you can learn more through local news outlets.) We were all shocked and saddened. This was something that already had rocked our small community.

Today is a new day. A new beginning. But the tragic events of yesterday are still being felt and they will be for a long time. Today I have prayed and asked my Heavenly Father to show me how I need to respond. These words are the beginning of that.

If you’re a follower of Jesus, this is a time for prayer. Prayer is not inaction. It is the best first response in a time like this. As we engage our Father in conversation, we will be sensitive to how He is leading our hearts. Using the model prayer that Jesus shared is a great starting place. Make it personal.

Acknowledge God for who He is. Holy, righteous, just, loving, merciful, caring, near. Seek His kingdom. Ask Him how you can be an agent of His grace in a time of shock, pain and brokenness. Pray for Him to provide for those who are hurting, and be ready to be part of that provision as He leads you. Make sure your heart is right with Him, and with other people. If you have ongoing conflict with someone else, now is the time to reach out and begin the process of forgiveness and reconciliation. We can’t be part of the healing process if we have bitterness within. Pray for our Lord to push back the darkness in our community. Remember that as a source of His light, you are part of that effort. And remember that He is still sovereign and He is working … even when it’s hard for us to see it.

As we pray in this way, God prepares us for what comes next. We will be ready to support the students, teachers and school staff in our community. We will know the importance of being present with those who are hurting, and simply listening. He will place thoughts and ideas in our minds that will comfort others as we point them to Jesus. We will be His instruments of healing in a community filled with grief.

Let us pray.