Thursday, April 19, 2007

Two friends in danger ... one in Iraq and one at VA Tech

The irony of the situation washed all over me Monday....

Two home school friends who had graduated in the same year were in danger ... two young men who had grown up with my kids, spent hours at my house, whose families are part of my family. I had addressed their small home school class at their commencement ceremony ... I knew them well.

One, Nate, a Lance Corporal in the Marine Corps, was returning home from Iraq on Monday, winging his way to Europe and then on to California. We were grateful for his safety after spending months in the mine fields of Iraq.

The other, Ryan, a junior at Virginia Tech, in the mountains of Virginia only two hours from home and supposedly out of danger, but suddenly caught up in the middle of a horrific act by a deranged fellow student.

Both, thankfully, are safe.

Last night I received emails from both families with news of each son. As I read them I couldn't help but think again of the irony of it all, the angst that was felt by the local home school community on Monday wondering in the hours after the shooting rampage if Ryan was safe ... and at the same time praying for Nate's safe journey back to the States.

Two young men who have taken different paths and yet the dangers of the world interrupted both their lives. Thankfully, both came safely home to us....

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