Grace in the midst of evil

It's no great secret that evil walks amongst us in many forms and faces. It's a given these days that, for many of us, our lives will be touched by violence at some point. That's a heartbreaking truth that I try not to think about too often. Been there, done that, have a few t-shirts I wished had never been hung in my closet.

I hang out at CourtTV's message boards often. I rarely post, but it's the facts of solving the crimes that draw me. At one time in my life I wanted to work in the legal system. That was in another lifetime. Before I got a bird's eye view of how the legal system works and what happens to those who are harmed by others. 'Nother story for another day.

This past week in Connecticut evil walked. It ran rampant through a family, destroying everything and nearly everyone it touched. Dr. William Petit is an endocrinologist in Cheshire, CT. He and his family, a wife and two beautiful daughters, were subjected to a home invasion by two males who followed his wife and youngest daughter home. He survived, barely. His wife and daughters did not.

The details don't need to be put here. They are horrific and my heart breaks for all of them. What matters, at least to me, at least on this day, is how he is reacting to having his world destroyed. I watched a video last night of him, speaking at a memorial service for his family. The man spoke for 20 minutes, of his beautiful wife and how he met her, how they loved one another. He spoke of his daughters and their bright futures, their shining example of giving back to the community in all that they did. He spoke of love and honor, integrity in every day living.

I pray for this man, for all he has endured and has to face still, in the future. I pray for peace and strength, for healing somehow in the midst of the nightmare of his everyday life now. And I marvel at how, instead of calling for vengeance from the podium where he stood, he instead challenged everyone to go out and do something good in this world, to love your family, to support a cause, in honor of those beautiful women.

He walks in grace when I know I would not be able to.