I lost two friends from home in a car accident over the weekend. I played baseball with one and graduated with the other. They were a part of my childhood. They were a part of my memories growing up in a small town in Missouri.
My first reaction to the news was one of anger and confusion. Here I am, a long way from the cornfields and ball fields of my youth, and for the second time in three years I receive news that home won’t be the same the next time I visit. “This isn’t part of the deal,” I thought, “I can go away, I can change, but my small town, my home can’t.”
I was wrong. My town has changed. It’s now missing two people who made it what it was.
In a certain way, however, I know that my town today isn’t any different than the one I grew up in. I’m sure that its citizens had their share of heartbreak and tragedy when I was a kid. I was simply too young and too innocent to realize it.
Paul says that we are one bread, one body. As a child, I thought that simply meant we all rejoice together, we all succeed together. Now I see we all suffer, we all mourn together, as well. This week, Plattsburg, Missouri, that town I hold so dear, is doing just that.
While I have you, can I ask you something? I’ll be quick.
Twenty-five thousand people subscribe to First Things. Why can’t that be fifty thousand? Three million people read First Things online like you are right now. Why can’t that be four million?
Let’s stop saying “can’t.” Because it can. And your year-end gift of just $50, $100, or even $250 or more will make it possible.
How much would you give to introduce just one new person to First Things? What about ten people, or even a hundred? That’s the power of your charitable support.
Make your year-end gift now using this secure link or the button below.
