I walked into work, sat down at my desk, and opened my computer to start writing. As I pulled the google homepage up, the red "breaking news" ribbon sprang up, "Notre Dame Cathedral on fire. Click for live coverage." Moments later a notification from the WWU app popped up, "Notre Dame on fire. Spire just fell." A few moments later my coworker piped up, "Wohh, did you hear about the fire in Notre Dame?"
A thought crossed my mind, "I'm always gonna remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the Cathedral of Notre Dame burned."
And my heart fell. A tragedy had struck the world. A treasure for history lovers, Christians, and humanity everywhere was crumpling. So much history. Eight hundred years of stories. Two hundred years of construction. It has seen the rise and fall of multiple monarchs. It survived several wars such as the French Revolution and WWII, as well as many nearby battles. The cathedral, home to so much art, handiwork, history, and symbols was falling. The tragedy hurt.
And yet, the heroes stood strong. The people still held onto hope. They still sang even as their hearts fell with the gothic architecture. Maybe it was little. But, often the act of a hero is small. Small gestures help the world cope.
The people circled the church, their voices lifted in a chorus of strength, of determination, of hope. And like one friend of mine said, "This is a beautiful building that has witnessed so much history within and around its walls. It is a terrible tragedy to hear of the destruction that has been caused by the fire. But let us be glad no lives were lost. Let us be grateful that people care. Even during the burning of such an iconic building, people have come together in solidarity. They have been singing hymns and reciting prayers as the room collapsed. Not all is lost if people remember." Also, let us be thankful that so much art and history WAS spared.
I am reminded that the church is not a building, but a people. That makes all the difference.
~TBS~
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