A couple days ago, I set up this blog page, and I’ve been struggling with what to write about for my very first post. I wanted it to be incredibly insightful, beautifully written, and universally meaningful—the perfect “glimpse of grace and glory in the little everyday moments of life,” as the blog’s subtitle states. But I’ve been too busy to stop and notice grace or glory… or anything else, frankly.

And then, today, in a suburb of Pittsburgh, 22 people—mostly students—were stabbed in an act of school violence. I couldn’t help but notice that. Friends in other cities contacted me to make sure it wasn’t our school, that my boys were OK. Later, I learned of children hurt, and one killed, in Florida when a car slammed into their daycare center. I read these news stories with great sadness, considering just how quickly an ordinary, everyday morning or afternoon turned into a scene of danger, fear, and confusion.

My intention for this blog was to write down ponderings about the world around me. A way to acknowledge those regular, everyday moments that are somehow elevated to memorable or remarkable. I envisioned those ponderings would be primarily happy thoughts about unexpected joys, heart-warming interactions with people, and pleasant encounters with nature (as evidenced in banner photo of pretty moth on flower).

What I am struck by tonight, however, is how blessed and precious “everyday” and “ordinary” can be. I’m willing to bet that the families who were involved in today’s tragic events would gladly exchange these memorable and remarkable moments for the mundane or ordinary.

I’m still going to look for the beauty, joy, and grace that ordinary, everyday moments often carry. But perhaps tonight’s pondering serves as a reminder that ordinary—in and of itself—can be a blessing and ought not to be taken for granted.