Prayers for Boston

I was thinking about writing about baked goods or something baby-related, but it didn’t seem right in light of yesterday’s events at the Boston Marathon. While I’ve been saddened by other recent tragedies, this one hit me differently.

I’ve been to Boston and have seen the Finish Line painted on Boylston Street.

I know friends that have qualified for and run the Boston Marathon. A friend’s husband was running yesterday and (thank goodness for social media updates) they’re safe and back home.

And being a runner, I can’t imagine this sort of thing happening while finishing the Chicago Marathon. And having trained for a marathon, I’d be disappointed and angry if I couldn’t finish after putting in all of the hard work because of a bomb.

While reading news updates, I kept thinking, “Who would do such a thing at a marathon?” And at Boston. The race that runners train for years in the hopes of qualifying. And why would someone do this at the finish line when the charity runners and other “regular” runners were finishing?

These events also make me sad to know that our baby girl will grow up in a world where we have to worry about school shootings and other random acts of violence.

On the positive side, there are so many stories of runners, spectators, race volunteers, and random individuals coming together and running into the smoke and mayhem to help the injured. The news blurb that touched me the most was hearing of runners crossing the finish line and continuing to run to the hospital to donate blood. I could barely walk after finishing a marathon, so if that was me, I hope I would have the strength to do the same.

Please keep the city of Boston and those affected by this disaster in your prayers.