Senseless Crimes

My wedding day was a great day. In fact, the entire week was one of the best of my life. Since my wedding was here in Canada many of my friends and family from all over the US traveled up for it. I loved having everyone around me in this place that I had come to love. Spending time with my family and friends that week created many happy memories for me that I still cherish and probably always will. That's why the news this morning made me so sad.

I woke up to hear that a shocked Ontario family was reeling with the news of their parents' brutal murder. I cannot imagine what it would be like to hear that your parents had been murdered. That alone is bad enough, but it happened just days before one of their daughters was to be married. The daughter and her family and friends were in Mexico. She and her fiance decided to get married down there, and the entire family was staying at one of those glorious, all-inclusive hotels. They were all gathering for breakfast and when their parents didn't come down, they became worried. They asked hotel management to check on them and once they did they entered the room to a gruesome double-murder scene.

My heart goes out to this dear girl. I'm sure that her entire family is raw with the grief and absolute disbelief of the situation. It is senseless; there seems to be no reason for this brutal double murder. This girl will always have this memory tainting what is supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life. When she actually does get married and walks down the aisle, it breaks my heart to think that she will feel sorrow as she is acutely aware that her father is not beside her walking with her. I try to put myself in her shoes, imagining what I would have felt if it had been me. I can't help but think that I would blame myself. If I hadn't been getting married, they would still be alive. That's not true, but how can the girl help but think that?

Looking through the paper today, I realized how many articles have to do with death and crime. I was struck with how desensitized I have become to it. It's just another story that didn't even make the front page. For me, this one struck a chord. For some reason, this one touched my heart. Why? I'm not sure...perhaps I felt I could see myself in the girl a bit more. It made me sad, though. Do we realize how often people in our small worlds are subjected to senseless crimes? It also made me mad, and I wanted to fight back. Then comes the inevitable feeling of helplessness...is there really anything I can do? This family will be in my prayers as they deal with this incredible and overwhelming loss.