A mere 2 days ago, on April 15th, 2007, I feel as if my answer to this question would have been quite different than it will be today – 1 day after the most horrific and deadliest shooting in modern US history occurred at Virginia Tech. My alma mater.

Can that really be correct?

So I ponder: Is my answer different today b/c the definition has changed, or is it b/c priorities are irreversibly different? I think the answer lies somewhere in between. You see, a Hokie is – and always be – a fiercely loyal servant. Expect nothing less of a community bound by the motto of “That I may serve”. A servant above all else. To a loving God. To our family. Our friends. Our community and school. Our country.

No, that much is not different. However, a tragedy of this magnitude changes things. Changes people.

The aforementioned priorities in one’s life certainly change. The everyday weight of life, work, etc seems trivial to so many of us right now. I found myself happy to be dealing with the stresses of my job today. The streets of heaven are filled today with young people who will never have that chance. Members of an extended Hokie family that many of us will never know. Members of immediate families that are left to deal with unthinkable loss and grief.

Today, as the world watches, as dignitaries including President and Mrs. Bush descend upon one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever known, a great big hole in the Hokie Nation is being filled with love and prayers. The healing will take time, but it is important to know that the healing will happen.

There it is. That attitude. That belief. That faith. That perseverance. That…that is what it means to be a Hokie.

It is through faith in an awesome God that many of us today will desperately look for solace. The 18th verse of Psalm 34 proclaims:

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.”

I also find my self profoundly touched by these words, written by Steph’s sister in the days following 9/11, to remember the victims and heroes of that tragic day. Her words ring true today as well:

There’s a hero’s welcome

in heaven tonight;

An army of angel’s is taken to flight.

Tears may fall

on earth here below;

but there’s a hero’s welcome

in heaven, I know.