Jerri Phillips

She used the word "selfish".

Her friend called it "stupid".

I said it was "sad".

The police called it "suicide".

Even in the early afternoon sun, the flashing red and blue lit up the parking lot. The helicopter added the punctuation mark screaming something horrible had happened.

"Horrible" hardly touches the reality.

Two lives blasted into eternity.
First hers. Then his.
Two shots.
Dozens of witnesses.
A million questions.

The general explanation--divorce.
The real cause--A person with more pain than he believed could heal. A person with no where to take his anger, his pain, his hopelessness, so they took him.

And families and friends will try to make sense of this incredibly heartbreaking act. An ocean of opinions will flood forth. Facts mixed with fiction, and none will make a difference.

Quietly, some who knew--and did not know--this couple will slip to their knees. Tears will fall. Prayers will be lifted. Grief-stricken hearts and compassionate souls will cry out because they know all that will ever make a difference...all that would have made a difference this time...

...a Savior.

Copyright Jerri Phillips 2009