The Next Day...

The day after his best friend died, John Mark McMillin wrote the powerful song, "How He Loves." The day after Thomas Young died I wrote this*, an assignment for my english course was to write a memoir and while I am still in the early stages and drafts, I think this sums up how I was feeling on Saturday

“Life Changing”

My pastor shot himself last night. Now I’ve got you; questions start swimming around your head, “is it true? Were they close to each other? How is it affecting him?” For a brief moment in time after reading that sentence you are not thinking about yourself; but that’s the purpose of a memoir right? To give people a story to be interested in other than their own, because we don’t want to appear vain. So to be better human beings we spend a few pages in someone else’s shoes. Perhaps after reading this you will pass it along to a family member or talk about it on Facebook so hundreds can see my story and for a while, not be selfish. Maybe The New York Times will put it on the best seller list; but to me none of this matters. If millions of people were to think about someone else for a short time, but no lives are changed, the story loses all meaning. My name is Blake, and my pastor shot himself.

This is just the first paragraph, and I plan for this paper to continue with this numb tone of voice, because frankly that is how I still feel towards what has happened. I am not angry, I am not blaming. I am just saddened and numb by this loss. Thomas Young changed my life and will continue to shape how my life and the lives of others are touched; this fire cannot be quenched.

The key of this paper is not this loss, nor my reaction; but instead it is about how a group of people from all walks of life were able to come together because of a Christ centered movement started by a man three years ago. Most would think this tragedy would tear us apart, but we will only become stronger through this. What was intended to hurt us, God has used for good.

Blake J.

*note that this is only the second draft to the first paragraph. There will be many more, because I want the first paragraph to grip the reader so that they can hear my story and the story of The Sanctuary Fellowship.