Oooo-klahoma!

I was talking to a friend of mine that served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Oklahoma City and it got me thinking about my visit to that city.

My family was driving from Utah to Tennessee to visit my grandpa and we made a few stops along the way. It was a long haul, and we took advantage of exploring some of the beautiful country on our drive east. I'm not sure if I had even seen the musical, but now looking back, I have the music from Oklahoma, the musical running through my head.

While I don't remember much from that visit, what I do remember is vividly seared into my memory.

We went to the Oklahoma City bombing cite. As my friend said, it is sacred ground. I remember walking with my father around the chain link fence perimeter. I remember all the pictures of victims. I remember countless stuffed animals and flowers and trinkets.

And I remember being in 4th grade and hearing about the bombing. I remember our school wide minute of silence in remembrance and recognition of the lives lost. I remember crying. And I remember thinking about the children at the daycare that lost their lives and thinking of my youngest brother and how I couldn't comprehend losing him.

I'm grateful to my parents for teaching us compassion. I'm grateful that they helped us face challenges in life - they could have hidden scary and sad truths and experiences from us. Instead, they taught us to pray for those who are hurt - physically or emotionally. To honor and remember those who are lost. And perhaps most importantly that life is a gift - we should enjoy it, despite the sad moments. And that we can't let the terrible actions of a few destroy our faith in humanity.