Boston Marathon

I first heard of the news currently sweeping the nation when my brother called home yesterday from the military base where he is stationed on the West Coast, at about 3 in the afternoon, in order to ask if we were all right.

Boston is my adoptive city. While I don't live there, my church home is in downtown Boston, along with many, many people I love and care about. My first few days of life were spent in Boston, after being rushed to the Floating Hospital immediately after birth. There is no counting the number of nights I have spent there, with friends at church before community service projects, with friends at their homes, etc. My coming to faith and growth as a believer happened almost entirely there, along with uncounted hours of work and of leisure, enjoying the city and the company of others.
Flying into Logan or even taking the T into one of the commuter rail stations gives me a warm fuzzy feeling - "I'm home."

The first few hours were spent watching the news, watching Facebook as people logged on to let people know that they were unhurt. I have yet to hear back from one of my youngest brother's youth leaders, who lives nearby and is just the athletic type to go to the marathon. One dear friend of mine was at the blast site an hour before the explosions, and by God's grace she and her family left earlier than they had planned, for reasons that seemed inconvenient at the time...
Facebook and Instagram (and presumably Twitter) came alive with people reassuring others, people posting messages of support, people trying to contact loved ones after the cell phone service was shut down, reportedly to prevent remote detonation of other explosive devices.
Stories of determination and heroism have been pouring in - marathon runners finishing and continuing to run to MGH to donate blood, running to the medical tent saying, "I'm a doctor, I'm a nurse. How can I help?" In addition, expressions of unity and sympathy have been flooding the country. Americans seem to come to our best immediately after disasters, going out of the way to demonstrate support, to raise money, to collect blood, to just be united for once.

   

Naturally, politicizing of the event has begun, and with it the whining about the politicizing. However, that isn't what to focus on. With God's help, we will rebuild and heal, and prevent it from happening again. The reaction of America to the tragedy in Boston is touching and heartwarming, regardless of the circumstances, and while humanity's depravity can be breathtaking, so can its altruism.

Prayers go out to the casualties and their loved ones.