Smith Mountain Lake, near the Blue Ridge Mountains, is on the southwest corner of the Lynchburg District of the United Methodist Church, my district. At least ten churches large and small from our district are part of the Smith Mountain Lake community. Danville and Roanoke Districts also have churches located in this scenic resort and retirement area.
August 26 was a beautiful summer morning at Bridgewater Plaza shopping center overlooking Smith Mountain Lake. Alison Parker and Adam Ward were on assignment for WDBJ TV out of Roanoke to do an early morning interview with Vicki Gardner, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce for Smith Mountain Lake.
What started as a routine interview ended in horror as both journalists were shot and killed and Vicki Gardner severely wounded by a disgruntled, former employee of the television station. Within a few hours, the shooter was spotted on an interstate near Northern Virginia but before being apprehended he shot himself and within hours died.
Alison Parker grew up in Martinsville, Virginia, and she was described by many as “a bright, shining light” with a vivacious personality and promising future in the media. Adam Ward was from nearby Salem, Virginia, played on the high school football team, and attended Virginia Tech. Adam was engaged to a morning show producer. They were days away from moving to Charlotte, North Carolina. Two young professionals with everything to live for cruelly murdered on live TV.
Vicki Gardner is described as a “bright light” in the Smith Mountain Lake community. She served as Executive Director for the Chamber for over ten years. Vicki was rushed to surgery, came through successfully, and is expected to have a full recovery.
Jack Philips, a resident of Smith Mountain Lake and a friend of Vicki, summed up on his Facebook page what many were feeling:
“I’m emotionally exhausted. Today’s shootings within 5 miles of our home have caused alternating periods in me of great anger and deep sorrow. Thankfully our friend, Vicki Gardner, appears to be out of danger, but she lost a kidney and her spleen. The two news people from WDBJ lost their lives. And why? Because some worthless person couldn’t hold a job and blamed his shortcomings on everyone around him. Today was a beautiful day here at Smith Mountain Lake. As each of these people got ready to go to work this morning, they had no idea that their lives were about to be changed (or ended) shortly. Live each day as you would want to be remembered.“
Visiting another television station in Lynchburg that day to check on friends, I saw professionals working hard to do their job and “get the story right” out of dedication to their craft and love for their co-workers but afterward those same professionals could be seen crying, grieving, offering each other support and hugs and at times with questioning looks, asking each other: “Why?”
Paul wrote in a letter to the Corinthians, “We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed.” (2 Cor. 4:8)
Could this be the ultimate lesson from the tragedy at Smith Mountain Lake? No matter what you may be going through:
- We are hard pressed to understand what happened and why but we are not crushed.
- Whatever problems we may be facing, we are perplexed but not in despair.
- No matter what personalities we may be dealing with, we are persecuted but not abandoned.
- Whatever tragedy we may be facing, we are struck down but not destroyed.
The gospel of John puts it another way: “I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hands.” (10:28)
The tragedy at Smith Mountain Lake vividly reminds us that life is short and occasionally unpredictable.
Human beings are vulnerable to tragedy, crisis, illness, and the consequences of mistakes, mishaps, and the evil intentions of others or even self-inflicted wounds.
Yet, in the midst of tragedy there is the ever present promise of God: You may be hard pressed but you will not be crushed. You may feel perplexed but there is no need to despair. You may even feel persecuted but you will not be abandoned. You could be struck down but you will never be destroyed. God gives you the promise of eternal life so you will never perish and you will never, ever, ever be snatched out of God’s hands.
About Larry Davies
Larry Davies is currently the Lynchburg, Virginia District Superintendent for 89 United Methodist Churches. He has been the pastor of small, medium, and large churches. For many years, Larry managed and trained sales people in the automobile business. He is also the author of Live the Light: Five Weeks to a Light that Shines and three other books. Larry is the founder of Sowing Seeds of Faith, a worldwide prayer ministry and writing ministry, www.SowingSeedsofFaith.com. His columns and blog posts appear in several newspapers, magazines, and websites. Larry is a graduate of Virginia Tech and received his Master of Divinity at Duke University. Mell, Larry’s wife, recently retired from Concord Elementary School. Larry’s oldest son Stephen is married to Brandy, and they have a one-year-old bundle of energy, Jackson. Larry’s daughter Lisa is engaged to be married to Bobby. He and Mell also have a lively but older Springer Spaniel named Daisy.
Thank you, Larry, for writing this post. Your wisdom and insight help me — help us. I remember thinking that morning upon hearing the news, “What is WRONG with people?” (You’d think that, as a former public defender, I could be more objective.) Thank you for reminding us of the ever present promise of God!