This afternoon, I was driving around town with Seth and Kelly looking for a house to rent for the summer and next school year. We were making our rounds to the local real estate offices. It was like a normal day.

Except for the tree that fell across a major artery on campus Monday morning; but that wasn't to big of a deal.

And then my phone rang. It was Zach; I just thought he was looking to see if I wanted to go to lunch. After all, it was lunch time, and I was hungry. But no, he wasn't calling to see if I wanted to get lunch; he called to ask if I'd heard about what happened up at Virginia Tech earlier that morning.

"No, I didn't," I replied, not thinking what he was going to say next.

"There was a shooting," he said. "So far, at least 21 people are dead." 

The gravity of the situation really didn't hit me until late this afternoon. I went to class at 3:30 without thinking much of it. Yes, the story was sad, but I felt pretty disconnected from the whole thing.

I had to work this evening at WRHI for our "news block." We carry the audio portion of Charlotte's WSOC-TV and ABC World News at 6 and 6:30.

Then it hit me. World News spent much of their broadcast devoted to the tragedy at Virgina Tech. The video, played over and over, finally broke through my thick skin. I sat there in the studio with my boss watching the news. I'm very thankful there were a pile of papers strewn across the clear paper stand; there were a few (short) tears shed during that newscast.

I saw first-hand accounts from students just like me really put the whole situation in perspective. Students like me who get up every morning, take a shower, and make the daily trek across campus to attend class. Students like me who find their professors (sometimes) boring; students like me who feel fairly secure living on a campus in the middle of a suburban town.

I kept thinking to myself what the last thoughts of the now 33 confirmed dead must have been. From the news reports, some of those Engineering students were able to secure the doors from the inside; the shooter wasn't able to enter the building. Others were able to jump out of second-story windows to safety.

And others weren't so lucky. At last count, 33 people were killed in this unwarranted attack against students trying to better themselves by earning themselves a college education.

My immediate thought was what if this happened here at Winthrop. What if my close friends or family were the victims of such a tragedy? What if I were a victim of this tragedy? Would I go to heaven?

Yes.

I'm not trying to turn this into an e-sermon, but I think that it's going to go in this direction anyways. And no one is going to stop me.

I know, for a fact, that at some point in time I will be no more. I know that we are all mortal, and each and every one of us will leave this world at a certain point in time, and I'm satisfied with where I will be going.

I've accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I've committed my life to Him and publicly confessed my sins and have been Baptized into a body of believers. It was just a little over a year ago (now about 1 year and 1 week) that I stood before the congregation of my church here in Rock Hill and confessed my life to Christ on Easter Sunday.

I know that when I die, I will be going to Heaven. And I'm proud to say it.

I don't know the personal stories behind the people who were killed in Monday's shooting, but I imagine their stories will be forthcoming in the coming days. And I know that there will be some of them who are Believers, and some who are not.

My question for you is -- do you know where you'll be going? Will you be put into a situation like these individuals were Monday morning? Will you have a gun pointed at your face and seconds to live? That's not the point where one should trust one's life in Christ. Now is the time. More than ever.

Accepting Christ is a decision which only you can make for yourself. I've made my Decision and countless more have made theirs. You can too.

Personally, I have seen a drastic change in my life since I've accepted Christ. Friendships have been strengthened, commitments have been made; and I can't begin to explain to you how grateful I am for the Sacrifice that Christ made for you -- and for me.

If you're looking for a relationship with Jesus Christ, then I invite you to visit www.needhim.org. I pray you'll at least take a look at this site. If you decide to accept Christ today, then great! But if not today, I pray that you will take time in the future to rethink your decision.

    For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
    that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
    -John 3:16 (NIV)

In the mean time, please keep the students, faculty, staff, and entire Virginia Tech family in your prayers. Tragedies like this affect not just one school or a handful of individuals, but all students everywhere -- because truthfully, any one of us could have been in that position.