A Shattered Village

Less than two weeks ago our quaint, little village was ripped apart.  A tragedy that has only happened maybe once many years ago, happened.  Two women were murdered in their home.  A mother and her adult daughter.  The daughter's boyfriend was wounded.  I know murders take place in our country daily. Not in our village.  I like to describe my town as Pleasantville.  People drive slow.  There is only one stoplight in town and it is a mile from main street.  Everyone waves.  Children ride their bikes and play flashlight tag.  The church chimes ring at lunch and at dinner.   Baseball and softball games dominate summer evenings.   It can be boring and I love that.
The town has crime.  Stolen bikes, often found thrown in the creek.  Cars get broken into.  Easy task when people do not always lock them.  Once in a while a business will be broken into.  There are drugs.  I am sure there is domestic violence.  We do not expect violence.  To have our Saturday morning blown apart with the news that two people were murdered in their home would never cross our minds.  As it spread through the town, people did not know what to do with the news.  In a small town if you do not know the people, you know someone that knows them, or you know someone in the family.  If on the off chance you have no connection at all, the town is small enough it is still going to be very upsetting.  It was like being punched.  I did not directly know any of the victims.  I have met and know some of the women's family.  Good people.  Family people.  People that teach school and coach sports, and help in church.  People that put their children first, always.  The only thing everyone can be thankful about is a child lived in the house too.  He was on vacation with his Aunt when it happened.  They got off the plane to horrific news.  That haunts me.  So much of what happened haunts our town.  It is the main thing people talked about for days.  People are still talking about.  The questions, are we safe, was it random, how could this happen here.  Always ending with thoughts of the child.  Thoughts of his Aunt and her family.  So many prayers.
The day after the terrible day my Pastor addressed the tragedy.  She is not from our town.  She does not know the families.  She knew we needed to hear something.  She said not all the powers in the world are good powers.  There is also evil.  I know you all want to know where God is when terrible things happen.  She said he is all around.  You will see his presence in so many ways in the coming days.  I pray that is true for the family.  I pray God has wrapped his arms around them every minute since their lives were touched by such an evil event.  I know how our small town works.  I know they have been surrounded by their family and friends.  Caring people will open their hearts and help in any way they can.
Will our village ever feel safe again?  I think so.  It will never seem as innocent as it was before.  In our lifetimes we will not forget that part of a family was taken in a brutal, senseless act.  We all want closure.  We want someone, unrelated to our town, to be found guilty of this crime.  That will not change what happened.  It would just make it easier to see a stranger and not wonder who they are and why they are here.  See a strange car and not want to run inside.  Check to make sure the doors are locked even in the daylight. In big cities murders happen often.  Most people do not have any knowledge of the families touched by the tragedies.  They go on with their lives knowing things like that happen.  Not here.  Not in our town.  We will see first hand how a family has to pick themselves up and find a way to live their lives.  Many of us will continue to pray for them, hold them in our thoughts.  We are still a small town.  Still a good town.