Making sense of a tragedy

The events at Virginia Tech fill news reports around the world. We are horrified, ask why, and can't make sense of it. These are some of the questions that we will want to ask of God in heaven, or hopefully at that point will have the understanding we need. A few weeks ago I ran across the following quotation from T.H. White's "The Once and Future King" (1958). The dialogue is between Merlyn and the young Arthur:

"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlyn..."is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, ...you may see the world around you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honor trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then - to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you."

And hopefully we will learn from situations like this. Learn how to respond to the hurting and broken before a tragedy occurs, and after. Learn to love everyone, no matter their social status, appearance, strengths or weaknesses. I pray that God's peace will come in the midst of the storm that surrounds the world at a time like this, and that His wisdom will teach us the things that are truly important.