Remembering 5 fine Young Ladies......

Today has been a very somber day in our community. Last night 5 students from the graduating class in my school, were tragically killed in an automobile accident. They were wonderful young women with bright, promising futures. They were headed off to stay at the cottage of a friend in the Finger Lakes. Five girls were in one car and four in the car following them. No one knows yet, quite what happened except that they veered into the path of a tractor trailer truck and both the car & the truck burst into flames. The driver of the truck is okay but the 5 girls were trapped inside the burning vehicle and could not be saved. I did not know all of these girls personally except for one, whose sister was a student of mine.

My heart breaks for the families of these young ladies. They just graduated on Thursday with all of the hopes and dreams that every child has as they clutch that diploma and gaze ahead into the future. All of their dreams for careers, marriages, children...went up in the flames that engulfed their car. The parents and families of these girls will never, ever be the same.

Life is not a "given" for any of us. We never know when we wake up each morning if it will be our last.

I know personally that there are times I tend to pin all of my "happiness" on the "whens" of life. When the new house is built....when I get that raise....when I finally lose the weight.... But "When" is today! If we spend too much time looking ahead on this journey called life - waiting to pull into that final destination that we think is going to make our lives complete - we lose sight of the scenery along the way.

A wise person once said the "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans..."

This morning before sunrise over 100 kids were gathered on the hill behind the school. Just to be together. To draw strength from one another in the face of this terrible loss. Please pray for the families of these young girls. And pray for the students who are trying to make sense of all this.